Free Film Fest Celebrates Over 100 Years Of Obscure & Cult Cinema

This weekend, Witness! The Phantasmagorical Cinema Fantastique opens at the El Paso Playhouse – a free three-day event that celebrates over a century of obscure and cult Cinema.  

Now, in its third year, the film fest grew out of a labor of love by local El Pasoan John Estrada, the curator of Witness! The Phantasmagorical Cinema Fantastique. 

Fans and the curious will discover old-world Cinema that includes silent films accompanied by ambient soundscapes designed and produced by Estrada. The added soundtrack includes classical and electronic music and nature sounds, breathing new life and dimension to cult classic silent films such as 1922s Nosferatu. 

Apart from the free film fest, attendees will get to peruse a display of oddities, classic and postmodern filmmaking equipment, retrofitted spirit boxes, and even a merman an hour before the screenings. The Curiosity House is an ever-evolving museum of the odd, weird and strange and will be on display in the lobby of the El Paso Playhouse during the film fest. 

Step out of the ordinary and immerse yourself in the world of Phantasmagorical Cinema this weekend.  

The latest production of The Phantasmagorical Cinema Fantastique is the third program under the Witness! banner. The first two Witness! programs were theatrical staged productions structured with short vignettes focused on gothic horror adaptations, danse macabre, and initially written short horror plays. The Curiosity House is a primary component of each Witness! production. The Curiosity House is an ever-evolving museum of the odd, weird and strange.

Film Schedule: 

Friday - November 5, 2021: Doors open at 7 p.m. / Film Screenings at 8 p.m. 

•  "The Red Balloon" followed by "Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari" (Accompanied by a unique Witness! Soundscape) 

Saturday - November 6, 2021: Doors open at 7 p.m. / Film Screenings at 8 p.m.  

• "The Phantom Creeps Chapter 12: To Destroy the World" followed by "Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens" (Accompanied by a unique Witness! Soundscape) 

Sunday - November 7, 2021: Doors open at 1 p.m. / Film Screenings at 2 p.m. 

•  "Voyage sur Jupiter" followed by "The Little Shop of Horrors." 

Witness! The Phantasmagorical Cinema Fantastique will take place at the El Paso Playhouse and is free and open to the public.