By Joshua Barnhart

Salina filmmaker Brandon Daley is coming home, and he is bringing a movie with him.

Daley’s first feature film, $POSITIONS, will play June 12 through June 15 at Salina Art Cinema. The film is not rated and has a runtime of 97 minutes. A special meet-and-greet with Daley is scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday, June 12.

Daley, who was born and raised in Salina, spoke with Salina311 in an exclusive interview ahead of the local screening. For Daley, the Salina showing is not just another stop on the film’s theatrical run. It is a full-circle moment.

“I used to work at the Salina Art Cinema,” Daley said. “It’s pretty mind-blowing to get to go back there and play my own movie.”

Daley left Salina for school in Chicago and has stayed there working in film. He wrote $POSITIONS in 2022, secured funding from a Chicago film investment group in 2023, and made the movie across 2023 and 2024. The film premiered at South by Southwest in 2025 before being picked up for distribution.

Since then, $POSITIONS has been shown theatrically and recently became available for streaming on Apple and Amazon. But for Daley, bringing it back to Salina carries a different kind of weight.

He said growing up in Salina, it meant a lot when filmmakers would visit the Art Cinema and talk about their work. Now, he gets to be the person returning with a film of his own.

“I just wanted to make sure I could come back and do it myself with this one,” Daley said.

The film itself leans into the chaos, risk, and anxiety of the investment world, with a crypto and gambling-adjacent edge. Daley described the energy of the movie as something that may connect with people who understand the thrill, and danger, of chasing a big play.

He compared the tension of the film to the anxiety of Uncut Gems, mixed with the feel of a 1990s comedy.

“It’s made for guys who have that itch, the investor gambling itch,” Daley said.

Daley said the future after $POSITIONS is less about chasing a rigid career plan and more about finding the next story worth telling. He said he does not want to make films simply for the sake of staying busy.

“I’m more focused on looking for stories I want to tell,” Daley said.

Following the success of the film’s SXSW premiere, Daley said he signed with a major Los Angeles agency and is now meeting with actors and production companies as he looks toward future projects. He has also been doing acting work, including a film with Dakota Fanning and Jake Johnson that played at SXSW this year.

Still, the Salina screening of $POSITIONS is personal.

For local audiences, this is a chance to see a Salina-raised filmmaker return to the same theater where he once worked, this time with his own feature film on the screen.

Event Details

Film: $POSITIONSFilmmaker: Brandon Daley

Location: Salina Art Cinema

Dates: June 12–15

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 97 minutes

Special Event: Meet and greet with filmmaker Brandon Daley at 6 p.m. Friday, June 12