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The El Paso Film Festival is back for 2022 with over (45) new films and some amazing special guests. Check out 2022's festival agenda and don't forget to purchase your Film Pass or VIP Badge for this year's festival.

The El Paso Film Festival has grown into one of the largest showcases of independently made narrative and documentary films in the southwest.

Download our 2022 film program.

Special Guests

Elizabeth Avellán

Producer

Elizabeth Avellán is a Producer of bold narrative diversified content. She is Co-Owner and Vice President of Troublemaker Studios.  In addition to producing family and genre films that have collectively grossed over a billion and a half dollars in box office, she has played a primary role in developing Austin, Texas as a thriving film community.

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Stephen Lang

Award-winning actor and playwright

STEPHEN LANG is an actor renowned for his performances on stage, screen and television. On film, Lang is perhaps best known for his role as ‘Colonel Miles Quaritch’ in James Cameron's seminal 2009 film AVATAR.

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Lucky McKee

Award-winning screenwriter, director, and novelist

McKee is best known for the 2002 cult hit May, the 2006 schoolgirl chiller The Woods and the notorious 2011 Sundance shocker The Woman as well as noir-thrillers such as Blood Money starring John Cusack, Kindred Spirits starring Caitlin Stasey, Thora Birch and Macon Blair. His latest film, Old Man, stars the legendary Stephen Lang and more recently, he directed an episode of Peacock’s smash hit detective series POKER FACE.

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Izzy Shill

Director, Writer, & Actress

Izzy Shill is a British writer, director and actor based in Los Angeles. She starred in the short film, The Rat (Sundance 2019) and made her directorial debut with Face to Face Time, a short form sex comedy (SXSW 2020, Amazon, Vimeo Staff Pick).

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Marc Senter

Producer & Actor

Marc Senter has starred in various award-winning dramas including psychological thriller THE LOST, Simon Rumley's controversial RED, WHITE & BLUE, and cult hits STARRY EYES and the musical THE DEVIL’S CARNIVAL.

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Diana Irvine

Producer & Actor

By day, Diana works at Cor Cordium Productions (NOMADLAND, CALL ME BY YOUR NAME) and by night she’s a independent producer and actor. 

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Nathan Crooker

Writer & Director

Crooker is a fresh yet commanding face in the world of Horror, entering with a BANG with his short, PLAYBACK that went viral in just one day. The film was also accepted into over eighty film festivals worldwide and won several Best Film awards.

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Maureen Bharoocha

Maureen Bharoocha is a Los Angeles writer/director whose projects are as diverse as her background. She started her career with her short film, Abajee (shot on the streets of Karachi) which premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival in 2009. Maureen was then commissioned by Sprinkles Cupcakes to create a film series in which she wrote and directed 10 shorts based on their cupcake flavors.

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Steven Wolfe

Producer

Steven J. Wolfe is a seasoned film producer and president of Sneak Preview Entertainment, the Production and Talent Management Company he founded 28 years ago, where he continues to develop and package new projects.

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Zach Passero

Director, Editor, & Animator

Zach Passero is an editor, director, and animator best known for his work on Lucky McKeeʻs films, like the notorious 2011 Sundance hit The Woman and the soon to be released Old Man; as well as Sam Elliot cult hit The Man Who Killed Hitler And Then The Bigfoot.

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Drew Mayer-Oakes

Film Commissioner

Drew currently serves as film commissioner at the El Paso, Texas Film & Creative Industries Commission, after eleven years as director at the San Antonio Film Commission.

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Winners

Ricochet

  • Grand Jury Prize
  • Best Documentary Feature

When a young woman is shot by an undocumented immigrant on Pier 14 in San Francisco, the incident ignites a political and media furor that culminates in Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States. In the eye of this storm, two public defenders fight to reveal the truth.

The Other Tom

  • Best Narrative Feature
  • Audience Award

Tom is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and prescribed psychiatric medication, but a strange accident alerts his mother as to its side effects. When Elena refuses to continue administering the drugs to Tom, Social Services threaten to remove him from her custody.

Going Nowhere

  • Special Jury Prize

Izzy’s making a movie. She casts her best friend, Diana, who enthusiastically prepares for the shoot. The two friends and a behind-the-scenes crew take a road trip from LA to Kentucky to shoot on a friend’s farm.  Are they going to make it? Or are they all Going Nowhere?

The Prank

  • Best Director

Ben and his slacker friend, Tanner play a prank on their high school physics professor. When she fails them on a test, they teach the demanding instructor a lesson by falsely accusing her of murder on social media.

Old Man

  • Producer Award

When a lost hiker stumbles upon an erratic old man living in the woods, the two engage in a conversation that will reveal a terrifying secret.

Grilled Queso

  • Reel South Short Award

A night in the life of a couple working in a food truck in the busiest areas in Austin.

Our Absent Men

  • Best Short Film (Documentary)

My grandmother was cursed and condemned to abandonment. There are no men in my family. The day I knew I was going to be a father, I wanted to run away, but I didn’t. Not like Our Absent men. I realize that my family is not cursed.

Aspirational Slut

  • Best Short Film (Narrative)

A heartbroken woman, on advice from a pizza delivery guy, decides to become a slut. In the process, she finds that wild random sex leads to something unexpected.

Films

Browse all of our 2022 films to plan your festival experience.

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Schedule

See the full 2022 schedule to plan your festival experience.

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