Billy Townes’ Border Lords III Premiering At The Plaza Theatre

Border Lords III: Bloodlines will host its world premiere this Thursday at the Plaza Theater in the heart of Downtown El Paso.

Shade Records, R-Unity Films, and the El Paso Community Foundation Plaza Classic Film Festival present the world premieres of the El Paso-made Border Lords III: Bloodlines along with the short film Macy Gray.

Native El Pasoan Billy Townes is a prominent jazz musician and music teacher who dabbles as a filmmaker. Twenty years after the debut of its first film, Townes is back in the director's chair along with producer Mark Love for Border Lords III: Bloodlines.

The Border Lords film series are high-energy crime dramas set along the border and will once again feature local and regional talent such as KTSM's meteorologist Robert Bettes.

Main Cast:

• Edric Ray ("Eli Ortega")
• Hector Dez ("Tomas Ortega")
• Al Matamoros ("Don Hector Guzman")
• Paul Schroder ("Col. Rowe")
• Chazz Pratt ("Verbose")
• Jessica Mathews ("Agent Shana McChord")
• Ronald "Tiger" Loving ("Agent Sean Jenkins")
• Robert Bettes ("Lawyer Prentice Roberts")
• Valerie Santos ("Vero Reyes")

After four years in the making, writer and director Billy Townes continues the crime saga of the Cortez crime family, whose leader, Gino Cortez, is now behind bars giving way for the emerging Guzman syndicate to attempt to take over the El Paso-Juarez underworld.

Fun Facts About The Border Lords Film Series:

• Border Lords III marks 20 years of the film series' production; it started in 2000 as a test for video software.
• Production for the last installment took over four years, partly because of the pandemic.
• 98% of the cast members of all 3 Border Lords films are from the El Paso/Las Cruces
• Area.
• Paul Jaso ("Gino Cortez" character) is the ONLY actor in all 3 Border Lords films, and his image appears in all three theatrical film posters.
• Paul's daughter Samantha was a baby on set during Border Lords 1 who grew up to be an extra on Border Lords 2 and a set designer/production assistant on Border Lords 3.
• Border Lords 1 was voted a fan favorite for the Full Moon in June Film Festival in 2003, while Border Lords 2 won 2^nd place in the El Paso On-Demand Film Fest.
• Border Lords 2 had over 6000 downloads from the Time Warner Cable Network within a month.

Border Lords III: Bloodlines will premiere at the Plaza Theatre along with the screening of Macy Gray by local filmmaker Rafael Prieto, which focuses on a young, tough female boxer who must battle her demons before she can enter the ring for a critical fight.

Tickets:

Tickets for the Border Lords III: Bloodlines /Macy Gray are on sale now at the Plaza Theatre box office and Ticketmaster.com. Call 915-231-1100 for more information.

• Border Lords III: Bloodlines
• Plaza Theatre
• Thursday – December 23, 2021, at 7 p.m.
• Admission: $10