What to know about Plaza Classic Film Festival

The 2022 Plaza Classic Film Festival began Thursday and ends Aug. 7.

The 15th annual festival will have three main themes in movies featured, as well as an El Paso connection reflected in the events with special guests.

Tickets for all Plaza Classic Film Festival screenings are available at the Plaza Theatre Box Office (no servicecharges) and Ticketmaster.com. Festival passes are available at plazaclassic.com/tickets or by calling 915-533-4020. For more information, including the complete schedule and ticket prices, visit plazaclassic.com.

Classic Film Festival movie themes

Festival program director Doug Pullen says more than 30 of the films were directed by women.

"It’s a survey of women filmmakers from the silent era (all four programs at the El Paso Museum of Art are devoted to silent-era women filmmakers) to modern-day ('Hurt Locker', 'The Piano,' plus 'Cristina,' 'Iliana' and Femme Frontera Showcase). Even the bands opening for the outdoor movies are either female artists or female-fronted bands. The two movies we’re showing on the Chase/Mills Plaza Parking Garage were directed by women: 'Wayne’s World' and 'Clueless,' " Pullen said.

Another theme is breaking the law with outlaw movies like "Douglas Fairbanks in Robin Hood," "Bonnie and Clyde," "The Sting," "Strangers on a Train" and "The Wild One."

And of course, who doesn't love teen angst or remembering it, with movies about rebellious teens and coming of age movies such as "The Breakfast Club," "Rebel Without a Cause," and "The Outsiders."

Special events, appearances

The legendary Rita Moreno returned to appear with 1952’s "Singin’ in the Rain" at 7 p.m. Thursday, July 28, and Steven Spielberg’s 2021 version of "West Side Story" at 7 p.m. Friday, July 29, both in the Plaza Theatre.

Moreno is the last surviving member of the main cast of "Singin’ in the Rain." She played Zelda Zanders, her first Anglo character in a feature film, in the Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen classic. She won a supporting actress Academy Award for her portrayal of the fiery Anita in 1961’s "West Side Story."

In the new version, she served as an executive producer, played the newly created character of Valentina, and performed "Somewhere."

Moreno has a long history with the Plaza Theatre and the Plaza Classic Film Festival. She headlined a benefit concert there in 1986, which enabled the El Paso Community Foundation to purchase the deteriorating 1930 movie palace and eventually restore it with the city of El Paso.

F. Murray Abraham,an El Paso native, will appear with "Amadeus" at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 5, and "The Grand Budapest Hotel" at 4 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6, both in the Plaza Theatre. He won an Oscar for Best Actor for "Amadeus."

Tickets for his appearances are $10 each at the box office and Ticketmaster.

El Paso native and recent Academy Award nominee Germaine Franco, who wrote the score for "Encanto," is set to appear at 7 p.m. Saturday, July 30, in the Plaza Theatre.

The Irvin High School and Rice University graduate is the first woman of color to receive an Oscar nomination for best original score.

The former El Paso Youth Symphony Orchestra percussionist is a composer, producer and arranger with a long list of accomplishments. In addition to her Oscar nomination, her "Encanto" score was nominated for a Golden Globe, received a Society for Composers and Lyricists Award for Best Original Score, an Annie Award for best music in an animated feature, and a Variety Artisan Award, according to Plaza Film Festival press materials.

She co-wrote and produced five of six original songs in Disney’s 2017 hit "Coco," including "Un Poco Loco" and "Proud Corazon." She wrote the score for the video game "Kung Fu Panda Land of Awesomeness" and "Kung Fu Panda: The Emperor’s Quest" theme park attractions that play daily at Universal Beijing Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood.

Tickets are $10, on sale at Ticketmaster.com and the Plaza Theatre Box Office.

Filmmakers and couple Cristina Ibarra, an El Paso native, and Alex Rivera will be the focus of a three-part series called "Genius: Ibarra/Rivera." The series begins with Rivera’s "Sleep Dealer" (2008) at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 30, in the Philanthropy Theatre. It is a futuristic tale that deals with environmental and immigration issues. It won awards at the Sundance and Berlin film festivals. Rivera will appear for a post-screening Q&A. Admission is $4.

Ibarra is an award-winning documentary filmmaker, and Hanks High School graduate whose work focuses on border issues and culture. She has received fellowships from Soros, Rockefeller, Firelight Media, and the Sundance Women’s Initiative.

Rivera is an award-winning narrative filmmaker whose work explores globalization, migration, and technology. The couple, based in Pasadena, California, received MacArthur “genius” grants in 2021.

The series continues with two of Ibarra’s short films at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, July 30, in the Philanthropy Theatre. It opens with the 15-minute comedy "Dirty Laundry: A Homemade Telenovela" (2000), followed by "Las Marthas," a 2014 documentary about a Martha Washington-inspired debutante pageant in Laredo, Texas. It aired on PBS’ "Independent Lens" in 2014. Ibarra will appear for a Q&A after the show. Tickets are $4.

The series concludes with "The Infiltrators" at 4 p.m. Sunday, July 31, in the Plaza Theatre. It won multiple awards at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and aired on PBS’ "POV" in 2020. The documentary-thriller hybrid was directed by the couple and is based on a true story about a group of “Dreamers” who infiltrate a for-profit migrant detention center in Florida.

Ibarra, Rivera and one of the film’s subjects, Claudio Rojas, will appear for a Q&A with El Paso Matters founder Bob Moore after the screening. Tickets are $6. A reception for the couple will be at 6:30 pm Sunday, July 31, in the Foundation Room, 333 N. Oregon St.

Franco went to Irvin High School; Ibarra went to Hanks High School; Abraham went to El Paso High; and Sosa went to Franklin High.

Local Flavor showcase moves to Plaza Theatre

The first Local Flavor showcase in the Plaza Theatre will feature eight short films that range from drama and comedy to experimental and animation, Pullen said. This year's selections will be screened at 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 4 in the Plaza Theater, a first for the 15-year-old showcase.

Admission is $5 at the Plaza Theatre box office and Ticketmaster.

There will be a Local Flavor After-Party, from 9 to 11 p.m., on the Sabor Patio at the Hotel Paso del Norte

This year's selections are:• Aqui es El Paso (Dubeth Ramferi Cortez), 20 minutes. Narrative about an immigrant stranded in Juarez.• Arkansas, etc. (Brandon Tyler), 14:45 minutes. Impressionistic short about a loner and a runaway.• Dada Noise 2 (Christopher Rakas), 3:12 minutes. A writer gives his heart away in this experimental short.• Melody (Lauren Roman), 5:11 minutes. Animated short about a father who sings his daughter intoexistence.• Ome Tlaloc (Jacqueline Barragan), 8:39 minutes. Documentary; tattoo artist embraces his indigenousculture.• That Tingling Sensation (Ryan Rox), 29:59 minutes. A young man is forced to confront his prejudices.• Visiones Diurnas (J. Genaro Limon and Arantza C. Shaeffer), 4:38 minutes. Experimental short in which apianist and painter in quarantine discover new possibilities.• Where Is the Governor? (Carlos Humberto Tejeda), 9:30 minutes. A superhero tries to save the state.

Sold-out event

The showing of "Father of the Bride," (the 1950 version) at the La Perla Rooftop Bar patio of the Plaza Hotel Pioneer Park on Aug. 3, is the only sold-out event. Seating was limited to 50 people.

Pullen notes the interesting fact that Elizabeth Taylor married Conrad “Nicky” Hilton Jr. in May 1950 and she lived in the 17th floor penthouse for a short time. The hotel was a Hilton Hotel at that time. She also did some of her wedding planning while staying at the hotel. The movie’s release was delayed until June 1950 to capitalize on the wedding publicity.

María Cortés González may be reached at 915-546-6150; mcortes@elpasotimes.com; @EPTMaria on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: What to know about 2022 Plaza Classic Film Festival