Texas State University will host a screening of the award-winning feature film, “LEADS,” written and directed by Bryan Poyser, an associate professor of practice in the School of Theatre, Dance and Film, at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 9.
The screening will be held in the Performing Arts Center. Admission is $13 for the general public. TXST students, faculty and staff may download complimentary tickets.
Writer, director and producer Jeff Nichols will serve as master of ceremonies for the screening.
“LEADS” was filmed on the TXST San Marcos Campus and made with the participation of 50-plus students, alumni and faculty from the School of Theatre, Dance and Film. The film had its world premiere in the U.S. Narrative Competition at the 2025 Tribeca Festival and screened at the 2025 Austin Film Festival and the 2025 Lone Star Film Festival. It won the Best Ensemble Cast Award at the inaugural Film Festival at Hollywood Park.
Called a “well-observed feature… built around two strong central performances…” by the Hollywood Reporter and “an unadorned love letter to acting, perseverance, and indie film" by Indiewire, “LEADS” tells the story of an acting professor (Heather Kafka) who has her comfortable life in her small college town upended when her charming and volatile baby brother (Justin Arnold) comes knocking at her door. Antsy to start a new chapter in his own life, he joins her acting class, setting off a battle of wills between them for the hearts and minds of her eager students that could bring them all to the brink of success or debilitating ruin.