Gay rodeo movie
Luke Gilford Talks About Making His Queer Cowboy Production National Anthem
By Gary M. Kramer–
Director Luke Gilford’s auspicious directorial debut, the engaging romantic drama National Anthem, is a dramatic adaptation of his photo guide of the matching name. Depicting the queer rodeo circuit, this film has Dylan (Charlie Plummer) taking a employment at “The Property of Splendor,” a queer ranch, where he meets Sky (Eve Lindley). Dylan soon starts fantasizing about her, and Sky is flirtatious, but she is also in an open relationship with Pepe (Rene Rosado). As Sky brings Dylan into the fold, first putting makeup on him and then inviting him to participate the gay rodeo circuit, he bonds with Carrie (Mason Alexander Park), who helps him act drag and he starts to uncover himself in this safe community.
While in town for Frameline, where National Anthem won the Festival’s Outstanding First Film Award, Gilford spoke with me for the San Francisco Bay Times about making his heartfelt film.
Gary M. Kramer: How did you approach the story narratively with Dylan’s coming of age? He’s a blank slate.
Luke Gilford: For my first feature, I wanted to originate from a very personal place
‘National Anthem’ is an LGBTQ+ indie film about queer rodeo performers, and its official trailer was recently released. It marks the feature directorial debut of filmmaker and photographer Luke Gilford.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpA3P7Au9zO/?img_index=1
The production is reportedly a fictional version of Gilford’s experience discovering the International Gay Rodeo Association (IGRA). Meanwhile, Charlie Plummer is showing the character of Dylan, who is described as “a soft-spoken 21-year-old construction worker.”
A synopsis of the film via Awards Survey reads:
“Dylan is the de facto father figure to his small brother and works odd jobs to help the family acquire by. After he finds himself with the opportunity to serve at a ranch, he is welcomed by a vibrant collective of queer rodeo performers who openly explore their identities and sexuality. He is especially drawn to Sky (Eve Lindley), a force of nature who Dylan connects with deeply, as he begins to forge his hold identity.”
The trailer shows how Dylan’s (Plummer) life revolved around operate until he met a group of queer rodeo performers & ranchers. He soon finds himself ex
Director Luke Gilford on ‘National Anthem’: Not his first queer rodeo
Luke Gilford’s father was a rodeo rider and a member of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. An early snapshot of the photographer and filmmaker, whose first feature,National Anthem, won the San Francisco Bay Area Motion picture Critics Frameline Award at the recent film festival and opens at Bay Area theaters on Friday, is of the newborn Luke at rodeo in Cheyenne, Wyoming. The milieu made an impression on the child over the years.
“All my earliest memories are at rodeos,” Gilford says during a recent video call. “I was just so taken by the animals and the denim and hairspray and rhinestones and the sunsets and adrenaline and intimacy, all these things. It’s American mythology right out in the open wind. And so, I cherish Western culture and I missed it. I really pushed it away as I was growing up, when I was a teenager.”
As a child, Gilford’s home base when his dad wasn’t on the rodeo circuit was Evergreen, Colorado. By the period he was a teenager, Gilford was living in San Ramon, where he graduated from California Tall School before heading south to study art at UCLA. Then in 2016, he discovered the
TRAILERS
Full Trailer for 'National Anthem' Production About Queer Rodeo Performers
by Alex Billington
May 14, 2024
Source:YouTube
"Ever been on a bull? It's the greatest rush of adrenaline..." An official trailer it out for a beloved indie film titled National Anthem, marking the feature directorial debut of filmmaker / photographer Luke Gilford. This premiered at the last year's SXSW Film Festival, and also played at TIFF, Mill Valley, and NewFest. The film is a fictional version of the story of Luke uncovering the International Queer Rodeo Association (IGRA). Charlie Plummer stars as Dylan, who's from rural Modern Mexico. He takes a gig at the House of Splendor, a homestead built by a community of gay rodeo performers & ranchers, and soon the indefinable magic of an untamed America unfolds before him. SXSW adds: "Finding space to explore and spot himself, he becomes entwined in the life of Sky, a talented barrel racer and free spirit." Also starring Eve Lindley, Rene Rosado, Mason Alexander Park, and Robyn Lively. The motion picture is also inspired by Gilford's photo book of the same name profiling real queer rodeo performers. It looks fantastic! What a mag