Today we’d like to introduce you to Bryan Poyser.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, how did you get started?
I’ve been making films in Austin for over 25 years – hard to believe it’s been that long! As a kid, I grew up in 4 different states (Washington, New York, Colorado, and Connecticut) and changed schools frequently, so once I moved to Austin in 1993 to go to UT, I was finally in a place that felt like home. I found my “tribe” of fellow filmmakers in college. I expanded that tribe further when I started working at film festivals, including SXSW, after college, meeting new filmmakers who became lifelong friends. In early 2000, I finally started making my films again, and my “tribe” expanded further when they began playing at festivals in the US and abroad, and I met even more filmmakers. I’ve made over half a dozen short films and 3 feature films that played at major film festivals like Sundance and SXSW, with the fourth one in post-production now. I also started teaching film about 12 years ago at Texas State University in San Marcos and love doing that, too.
Alright, let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what challenges have you had to overcome?
Well, as an independent filmmaker, the struggle is constantly raising money. Film is a costly art form to practice. I usually devise a story or write a script utilizing available resources. Like my 2nd feature film, LOVERS OF HATE, I wrote that specifically to take place in this big 6-bedroom 4-story mansion in Park City, UT, that I had access to through someone I met through the Austin Film Society. I don’t know what I would have done if this person had said no to my request! But they did say yes, and we gained an incredible amount of production value by shooting in the house (and saved money by having the cast & crew stay there while we shot). And, most amazingly, it premiered in Park City at the Sundance Film Festival a year after we shot it!
I appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I’m most proud that I’m still doing this after about 25 years. I’ve had many ups and downs along the way – primary career goals met and even exceeded, and then terribly fallow periods where I can’t imagine ever making another movie. But, I continue to feel the spark to create and collaborate with new people (actors, producers, cinematographers, composers, etc.) and see how their ideas and mine can mesh together to yield something I would never have thought of.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
My mom has been an artist her whole life, a painter and illustrator, so the artistic life never seemed out of reach to me – it seemed more normal than working in some corporate office. When my sister & I were little, we would pose for her paintings – she did many science fiction and fantasy book covers, children’s books, and even romance novels. So there are a bunch of paperbacks from the 80’s & 90’s floating around with me on them as an elf, a space explorer, a Prince Charming, etc.
Contact Info:
- Website: bryanpoyser.com
- Other: https://vimeo.com/bryanpoyser
