Interview:
Bryan Poyser,
co-writer/director,
"Leads"
A collaborative effort between the Austin-based filmmaker Bryan Poyser and his cast members Heather Kafka and Justin Arnold, the locally shot dramedy Leads finds an actress-turned-acting lecturer confronting her past successes and current circumstances when two of the most important men reappear in her life. Mags Malloy (Heather Kafka) has seen her once-promising acting career slow to the point the single mother must now teach at the fictional Southwest Texas University to support herself and her young daughter. An unannounced visit by Mags’ wayward young brother and perennial disruptive influence Merritt (Justin Arnold) threatens her mundane existence. Which is the last thing Mags needs as she prepare to get in the right headspace for a school visit by Taylor Betts (Macon Blair), a successful genre director who abandoned her immediately after they collaborated on an art-house sensation 20 years earlier. Then comes a workplace “Me Too” incident that places Mag’s career in jeopardy. Leads also stars Aaliyah Tardio as Mags’ best acting student Alisha. Co-written by Bryan Poyser, Heather Kafka, and Justin Arnold, Leads will screen at 2 p.m. Oct. 26 at the State Theatre during the Austin Film Festival. Austin-based Bryan Poyser previously directed Heather Kafka in the 2010 dramedy Lovers of Hate. He also directed the 2013 comedy Love & Air Sex, starring Zach Cregger and Sara Paxton, and the 2004 coming-of-age tale Dear Pillow. He also wrote an episode of HBO’s Room 104. Poyser is an Associate Professor of Practice - School of Theatre, Dance, & Film at Texas State University, which doubles for Southwest Texas University in Leads, and he recruited students and alumni to work in front of and behind the cameras.
Aired: Oct. 22, 2025. Web sites: https://www.bryanpoyser.com/ https://austinfilmfestival.com/2025-film-schedule/ |
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