Every movie star needs a distinctive look, a charming personality, and the talent to back it all up. Enter El Paso—its hat tipped ever so slightly over its eyes—which just had its breakout year. Not only was the city featured on MovieMaker’s list for “The Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2026,” but El Paso also served as the setting for Paul Thomas Anderson’s critical darling, “One Battle After Another.”
If it takes years to become an overnight success, El Paso has proved it with its longtime dedication to cinema’s creation, promotion, and preservation. Film buffs on a pilgrimage to the city will find traces of all three at the legendary Plaza Theatre, the rapidly growing El Paso Film Festival, and the filming locations of modern classics.
And now, our feature presentation:
The Plaza Theatre: 100 Years Young
If you’re tired of drab strip malls and long for a time when commercial architecture was treated as an art, you just might hear the swelling music of Ennio Morricone as you enter the Plaza Theatre. Built in 1930, the theatre features a Spanish Colonial Revival design that not only gives our greatest art form the imperial home it deserves, but coordinates beautifully with El Paso’s own cultural history…