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American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez Screening & Discussion • WXXI Studios

Join WXXI for a FREE screening of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez, a film produced, written and directed by David Alvarado. Follow the legacy of filmmaker and playwright Luis Valdez. A founding figure of the Chicano Movement, Valdez is best known for his play Zoot Suit, the Ritchie Valens biopic La Bamba and the theatre company El Teatro Campesino.

The film screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by Julio Sáenz, WXXI Chief Content Officer. Panel TBD.

Details:
“American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez” Screening & Panel Discussion
Thursday, October 1, 2026. Doors open at 6 p.m. Screening starts at 6:30 p.m.
WXXI Studio A
280 State Street, Rochester, NY 14614

Parking available next door at High Falls Garage.

This event is free, but reservations are required due to limited space. Event Details Here

Reserve Your Spot

Cover Photo: Luis Valdez in interview. Credit: Frasier Bradshaw.

About the film:
The son of migrant farmworkers who became a revolutionary artist, Luis Valdez changed American culture. In the 1960s, his El Teatro Campesino performed on flatbed trucks and helped mobilize farmworkers to win their first union contract. In 1979, his “Zoot Suit” was the first Chicano play ever performed on Broadway. His feature film, “La Bamba” was a breakout blockbuster in 1987 that authentically depicted Mexican American life and shared it with the world. Founded in 1965, Valdez’s El Teatro continues to be a beacon for Latino/a creators. American Pachuco is the story of a pioneering artist who gave voice to the overlooked and opened pathways for generations. Learn more at the American Masters’ Episode Website

Official Trailer

Family Movie Fridays

Lights, camera, family fun! This fall WXXI is kicking off a special family series called”Family Movie Fridays”. Families (kids + grownups) are invited to WXXI Studios each month for a PBS KIDS-themed movie experience to watch, play, and learn together.

Family Movie Night is a special opportunity for families to visit WXXI and enjoy a PBS KIDS movie special or collection of themed-episodes on the big screen in our studio! Families can take part in hands-on activities inspired by the featured program, pick up free PBS KIDS learning resources to continue the fun at home, and connect with other families in the community. Along the way, families will also discover how WXXI’s Early Learning Team brings PBS KIDS to life through engaging educational experiences and collaborations that help build a strong foundation for young learners.

Movie Night Schedule:

September 25: Sesame Street and the Great Elephant Adventure
October 23: A Fuzzytown Halloween with Carl the Collector
November 20: Carnival of the Animals
December 18: When We Met Stu (Lyla in the Loop)
January 22: Wild Kratts/Adventure in Moose Mountain (Elinor Wonders Why)
February 26: Odd Squad the Movie
March 19: Acoustic Rooster and the Barnyard Band
April 23: Daniel Visits Somplace Else
May 21: Wowsabout!

Please note the schedule of PBS KIDS movies or themed-episodes is subject to change.

Other Important Information

Friday fun! Movie Nights are held on Fridays, once a month, at WXXI Studios. Doors open at 5:15 p.m., and the movie will start at 5:30 p.m.

Registration is required for each event. All of the events are free, but registration is required. Families must register separately for each Family Movie Friday they plan to attend. Upon registration, families will recieve a confirmation email with additional event details.

Bring your own food! Pack dinner, snacks, or whatever your family enjoys munching on during the movie.

Get cozy! Feel free to bring blankets, pillows, or other comfy items to make your viewing experience more enjoyable. Pajamas are welcome! Kids are encouraged to come dressed in their favorite PJs.

Limited seating is available. A small number of tables and chairs will be available on a first come, first served basis. For safety and space considerations, outside chairs are not permitted.

Accessibility accommodations. If someone in your family has accessibility needs, please include them in the registration form and/or contact Rachel Rosner at RRosner@wxxi.org prior to the event so we can help ensure a positive experience for everyone.

WXXI Studios

Your idea. Our studios. Professional production. 

Whether you’re producing a podcast, shooting a commercial, creating digital content, hosting a live event or bringing a full-scale production to Rochester, WXXI Studios offers professional spaces, equipment, and award-winning production crews to help bring it to life. 

Get started.

Studio A

Our 74′ × 50′ fully equipped HD studio is built for everything from multi-camera video productions and commercial shoots to live performances.  We have an optional stage, green room and concessions area to create the setup that works for your production or event. Hosting an audience? Studio A can accommodate up to 150 guests and offers street-level loading dock access for an easier load-in and load-out. 

Ideal for Commercial & video productions •  Multi-camera film shoots • Corporate events • Panels & town halls • Productions with a live audience 

Production capabilities:

Need production support? WXXI’s experienced production crew and professional equipment are available to help take your project from setup through production. 

Studio A is equipped with professional broadcast production technology, including: 

  • Cameras:  Up to six Grass Valley LDX 82 studio cameras with full Fujinon lenses, teleprompters and confidence monitors, plus up to two handheld cameras 
  • Camera movement: 8′ or 14′ jib arm with wide-angle lens 
  • Audio:  Wireless and hardwired microphones, 2-channel IFB and RTS ROAMEO wireless belt packs 
  • Lighting:  ETC ColorSource 40 AV lighting console with wireless DMX connectivity and DeSisti and Chauvet LED fixtures 
  • Studio environment: 240’+ traveling black curtains and 120′ cyc on an 18′ track 
  • Production access: Street-level loading dock for equipment and set load-in 

Professional Production Control Room 

Our production control room connects to Studio A + C and utilizes a Ross Vision 3 switcher and XPression real-time motion graphics system for seamless integration.  

Video recording and playback (HD or SD) via profile servers.  

CueScript teleprompter system. Calrec Brio 36 input audio console with 360 systems Instant Replay 2 and Digicart-EX audio playback/record devices. CD playback.   

Wireless microphones and IFBs along with Telos V Set broadcast phone controller. Producers, directors, and crew staffing are available. 

Rent Studio A

Studio B — Podcast + Interview Studio

Professional sound. Professional video. A space built for conversation. 

If you need a professional space to record a podcast or create an interview series for your organization, Studio B provides an opportunity to create broadcast quality audio and video content without building your own production setup. 

Studio B is a self-contained HD video podcast studio designed for intimate, conversation-driven productions with two to three people.  

The fully lit 10′ × 16′ hard green wall, giving creators the flexibility to record stand-ups, custom backgrounds and additional video content during their session. 

Ideal for Audio & video podcasts • Executive interviews • Branded content • Thought leadership • Educational series • YouTube shows • Green-screen content 

Production capabilities:

  • Multi-camera video: Up to four cameras with individual ISO recordings 
  • Live switching: Blackmagic ATEM SDI Extreme ISO switcher operated by an assigned WXXI Studios director, with a switched master recording 
  • Professional audio: Up to three Shure SM7B microphones recorded through a RØDECaster Pro II 
  • Green screen: Fully lit 10′ × 16′ hard green wall for stand-ups and other video productions 
  • Professional lighting: ETC ColorSource 40AV lighting console with wireless DMX connectivity and DeSisti and Chauvet LED fixtures 
  • Flexible studio environment: Traveling black velour curtains around the full studio perimeter and traveling gray cyc around half the studio perimeter 
  • Production support: WXXI Studios director included when using the multi-camera production system; additional production and post-production services available 
Rent Studio B

Studio C — Creator + Vertical Production Studio

Studio C is a versatile 43’ x 61’ production space designed for creators, filmmakers and production teams working in today’s evolving video formats. From vertical films and microdramas to social media series, interviews, branded content and green-screen productions, Studio C offers a professional environment for creating high-quality content efficiently. 

A fully lit standing set accommodates intimate interviews and discussion-table formats for up to five people, while a 12′ × 32′ corner green-screen cyclorama with floor provides flexibility for virtual environments, visual effects and scripted productions. 

For producers shooting vertical series and microdramas, Studio C offers the production infrastructure to capture multiple setups, scenes and episodes in a controlled studio environment—with professional cameras, lighting and WXXI production support available under one roof. 

Ideal for Vertical films & microdramas • Short-form scripted series • Social media video • Branded content • Interviews & panel discussions • Green-screen production • YouTube content • Commercial shoots

Production capabilities:

  • Multi-camera production: Up to three Grass Valley LDX 82 studio cameras with Fujinon lenses, teleprompters and confidence monitors 
  • Additional camera options: Up to two handheld cameras 
  • Camera movement: 8′ or 14′ jib arm with wide-angle lens 
  • Green screen: Fully lit 12′ × 32′ corner hard green cyclorama with floor 
  • Standing set: Fully lit set for intimate interviews or discussion-table productions with up to five people 
  • Crew communication: RTS ROAMEO wireless beltpacks 
  • Production access: Freight elevator accessible for equipment, props and production materials 
  • Production support: WXXI professional crew and additional production services available 
Rent Studio C

Studio E — Music Recording Suite

Your sound deserves more than a microphone and a laptop. 

Studio E is WXXI’s dedicated audio recording space for musicians, vocalists, voice talent and anyone who needs professional-quality sound. The Audio Production Suite features an attached voice booth and Pro Tools, creating an intimate environment for everything from audition recordings and demos to music sessions, voiceover and album projects. 

Whether you’re capturing a solo performance, recording a small ensemble or preparing an audition that needs to sound its best, WXXI’s professional audio capabilities and experienced production team can help you create a polished recording. From the first take to the final track, record it at WXXI Studios. 

Ideal for Music recording • Album & EP projects • Audition recordings • Demos • Solo artists • Small ensembles • Voiceover • Narration • Audiobooks 

Audio capabilities:

  • Professional recording:  Audio Production Suite equipped with Pro Tools 
  • Voice booth:  Attached dedicated booth for vocals, voiceover and narration 
  • Music production:  Recording capabilities for solo artists and smaller performance groups 
  • Remote interviews:  High-quality remote phone interviews to or from anywhere in the world 
  • On-location recording:  WXXI’s remote audio truck is available for live performances and event recordings 
  • Audio + video production:  Remote audio services can also be paired with WXXI’s on-location multi-camera video production 
  • Production support:  WXXI audio professionals available to support recording sessions and productions 
Rent Studio E

Creative Services

On-location, Multi-camera Video Production  

  • Up to six JVC ProHD GY-HM790U cameras with Fujinon lenses, or Sony FX6 and FX3 cameras 
  • Blackmagic ATEM SDI Extreme ISO eight-input switcher                      
  • LED lighting packages available 

Video Field Production:

One or more videographers available for video and audio capture

  • Sony FX6 and FX3, DJI Osmo Pro, and GoPro cameras 
  • LED lighting and wireless microphone packages available; audio engineer with mixer available as needed 
  • Drone operator 

Post Production:

  • Adobe Premiere edit stations complete with Creative Suite 
  • Editor/postproduction supervisor and motion graphics artist available 

Uplinks:

WXXI is the only station in the region with a specially equipped HD uplink studio to partner with major US and World networks like ABC, CNN, NBC, MSNBS, FOX-TV, Bloomberg Television, Al Jazeera-TV in the US and Great Britain. 

Get started!
Contact:
Jazz Williams, Manger of Creator Partnerships
jzwilliams@wxxi.org
(585) 910-2195

RIT Shorts, Pt. 5 • WXXI-TV

WXXI continues to put a spotlight on the work of Rochester Institute of Technology film and animation students by presenting a series of shorts biannually.

RIT Shorts airs Thursday, September 24 at 8 p.m. on WXXI-TV and the WXXI-TV Live Stream. Repeats Friday, September 25 at 10:30 p.m, Saturday, September 26 at 3 p.m., and Sunday, September 27 at 11 p.m. on WXXI-TV.

RIT Shorts is a bi-annual series that showcases the work of some of RIT’s most impressive student filmmakers, offering these young producers a platform to share their films to a broader audience while offering WXXI viewers the chance to see the incredible talent that RIT is cultivating.

Featured films include:

The Interview by Gianneska Romero
Beatrice is unexpectedly interviewed by her childhood self, who questions whether she has achieved the dreams and ambitions she once imagined. As she reveals the disappointment she feels about her life, her younger self rejects her and chooses an idealized version of Beatrice who embodies every childhood aspiration. Heartbroken and unable to follow them, Beatrice is pulled back to reality, where she silently prepares for another shift at her dead-end fast food job.

A little girl wearing a blue dress sits across from her grown-up self wearing a Black dress. They are sitting at a desk and there is an opne book on the desk.

Apple and the World Eater by Sarah Chen 
Apple and The World Eater follows a little girl named Apple and her best friend, Billions, a walking capsule machine, as they confront the cosmic deity that has been consuming their world.

Family Portrait by Ryan Fay
A single view of a family’s kitchen provides a window into a child’s life, as family memories unfold over the years.

A mom and son in a kitchen standing next to the sink. the son is earing a graduation cap and gown and then mom is looking lovingly at him.
A boy with blonde hair wearing a green space suite looks determined. Behind him a Black boy n a red space suit looking surprised.

Starhead by Samara Reid
Two amateur space cadets attempt to save their captain from a dastardly villain. 

Bugs in Hubris by Malachi Spight
It’s a slow summer day. There’s nothing to do and, most importantly, nothing to eat. Three little bugs long for a meal, searching for something to satisfy their hunger. But food may be closer than they think, and retrieving it may come with consequences. 

A red bug on a green leaf

John Lewis: Get in the Way • The Little Theatre

Join WXXI for a special screening that follows the journey of civil rights hero, congressman, and human rights champion John Lewis.

The son of sharecroppers, John Lewis grew up in rural isolation, seemingly destined to a bleak, segregation-imposed future. But his fate took a different turn, and Lewis rose from Alabama’s Black Belt to the corridors of power on Capitol Hill, his humble origins forever linking him to those whose voices customarily go unheard. A man of the people, a Congressional elder statesman, Lewis is as exceptional as he is ordinary.

In honor of HBCU Week, celebrating the group of academic institutions that are classified by the U.S. Government as Historically Black Colleges and Universities, this special screening will be followed by a panel discussion moderated by WXXI News reporter Racquel Stephen.

The event is free and open to the public. but reservations are required.

Click here to reserve your free seat

Details:
John Lewis: Get in the Way, a free screening followed by a panel discussion
Tuesday, September 15 at 6:30 p.m. (Doors open at 6 p.m.)
The Little Theatre
240 East Avenue, Rochester, NY

Watch the Official Trailer

More HBCU Week Programming

American Masters “Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined • WXXI-TV

Explore the story of Dominican-American poet and novelist Julia Alvarez, who burst onto the literary scene and blazed a trail for a generation of Latino authors.

American Masters “Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined airs Tuesday, September 15 at 10 p.m. on WXXI-TV and streams live on the WXXI app.

Her semi-autobiographical novel, How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, was published in 1991, followed in 1994 by In the Time of the Butterflies, which sold over a million copies and raised global awareness about life under Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo. Spanning multiple genres and audiences, Alvarez’s work includes three nonfiction books, three poetry collections, 11 books for children and young adults and seven literary novels. This new documentary opens a window into her extraordinary journey from an idyllic, privileged childhood in the Dominican Republic to a life of exile in New York City to a brilliant literary career that shows no sign of slowing down. At 74, she recently published the critically acclaimed novel The Cemetery of Untold Stories.

Filmed in the U.S. and the Dominican Republic, Julia Alvarez: A Life Reimagined features extensive interviews with Alvarez, her family, and her literary contemporaries. The documentary is produced and directed by Adriana Bosch, an award-winning documentary filmmaker who served as series producer on the PBS series Latino Americans (2013) and Latin Music USA (2009). Born in Cuba, Bosch has produced and written a number of films for the PBS series American Experience, including a film on Fidel Castro and several acclaimed presidential biographies.

Photo credit: Corey Hendrickson


Hampton University Concert Choir at Mt. Olivet • WXXI Classical

As part of HBCU Week, WXXI Classical presents a concert by the internationally acclaimed Hampton University Concert Choir

Hampton University Concert Choir at Mt. Olivet airs Wednesday, September 16 at 3 p.m. on WXXI Classical FM 91.5 and streaming live on WXXIClassical.org.

Recorded in Rochester in March as part of its 2026 tour, the concert includes a variety of sacred choral works, American spiritual and popular songs.

More HBCU Week Programming

Concierto • WXXI Classical

Enjoy this weekly program of classical music presented in Spanish and English. 

Concierto airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on FM 91.5 and streaming live on WXXIClassical.org.

Concierto is the first classical music program to specifically target Latino listeners. Host Frank Dominguez presents classical music in English and in Spanish. Music by Spanish and Latin American composers such as Enrique Granados and Astor Piazzolla is alternated with classical favorites performed by Hispanic artists such as conductor Gustavo Dudamel, pianist Gabriela Montero, guitarist Manuel Barrueco, and singer Placido Domingo. Through its bilingual presentation, Concierto provides an entry point for Latinos interested in learning more about classical music. It also appeals to Hispanics already familiar with classical music by celebrating the diversity of their culture and its contributions to classical music.


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