Plaza Classic Film Festival

When:

July 16, 2026 to July 26, 2026

Where:

El Paso, TX

About the Event:

The Plaza Classic Film Festival celebrates its 19th year July 16-26, 2026. It was started by the El Paso Community Foundation in 2008 as a special project to bring movies back to the historic Plaza Theatre. The Community Foundation purchased 35mm and then state-of-the-art 2K digital projection equipment (upgraded to 4K in 2018) for the atmospheric theater, which opened in 1930, closed in the early ’80s, and was restored for $42 million in 2006 in a joint partnership between the City of El Paso and the Community Foundation.

More than 600,000 people have attended the first 18 Plaza Classics. The festival has an economic impact of $1.5 million annually. About 20 percent of its audience comes from outside of the El Paso/Juarez/Las Cruces radius, with 2025’s festival drawing guests from more than 100 cities around the country and other parts of the world.

The Plaza Classic Film Festival also has become a major showcase for regional filmmakers through its Local Flavor series, sponsored by the El Paso Film and Creative Industries Commission and the Texas Film Commission. It screens features, shorts, documentaries and other projects, and its audience has tripled in recent years. In 2022, the Local Flavor Showcase and Awards was moved from smaller venues to the Plaza Theatre, with nearly $5,000 in awards handed out to local filmmakers in the ninth annual Local Flavor Awards.

Event Website