Will The Plaza Classic Film Festival Return This Year?

I love to watch classic films. I usually have to catch them online or on tv but once a year, downtown El Paso comes alive with a classic film festival that has become one of the biggest in the country. The Plaza Classic Film Festival takes over the historic Plaza Theater every summer with a couple of weeks of in-theater classic films and other films that take over the San Jacinto Plaza, most notably the wildly popular screening of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic last year's in-person festival was cancelled and instead relied on digital streaming to screen classic films.

I spoke with Plaza Classic Film Festival officials and have some great news for all you classic film fans. According to PCFF officials this year's in-person screenings at the Plaza Theater "is definitely a go." I cannot tell you how happy that makes me. If there is one thing I have really missed during the pandemic it's been going to the movies, especially the movies shown during the Plaza Classic Film Festival.

Michael E. Molano

PCFF officials said if things get bad again they are prepared to go again with last year's format of pop-up drive-ins and digital streaming but would only do so if they have to. The Film Festival organizers have already announced the dates that this year's festival will run. You can watch their slate of classic movies from July 29 through August 8. If you're a local filmmaker and would like to submit a film to be considered for the PCFF's Local Flavor slate of movies you can click here for more information.

As we get closer to the Plaza Classic Film Festival we'll be bringing you the rundown on what films will be screened and when. Until then, let's all do our part to make sure that amazing events like the PCFF get to reopen this year. Social distancing, hand washing, and wearing face masks will help keep us all safe and on the road back to normal life.