By Gary M. Kramer–
Director Luke Gilford’s auspicious directorial debut, the engaging romantic drama National Anthem, is a dramatic adaptation of his photo book of the same name. Depicting the queer rodeo circuit, this film has Dylan (Charlie Plummer) taking a job at “The House 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 attend the gay rodeo circuit, he bonds with Carrie (Mason Alexander Park), who helps him do drag and he starts to find himself in this safe community.
While in town for Frameline, where National Anthem won the Festival’s Outstanding First Feature 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 start from a very personal place. I grew up in the rodeo circuit. My father was in the professional rodeo cowboy association. All my earliest memories were at rodeos. As I grew older, I found out how homophobic, misogynistic, and racist this world can be, so naturally, I stayed away. But, around 2016, I discovered the
subculture of The International Gay Rodeo Association, and they welcomed me so warmly. I really did find my people. It was an electric charge of belonging. I wanted to write about that, and for Dylan’s story to reflect my own—discovering this community and becoming part of it. And for Dylan to serve as the audience’s eyes and ears to discover this world along with him. We can go on this journey with him.
Gary M. Kramer: Can you describe the worldbuilding of “The House of Splendor,” and this pocket of genderqueer and sex positive characters that exist in the American West?
Luke Gilford: It was very much a personal process, and that’s been beautiful to see when we are sharing the film, how folks who can relate to this world and the restraint I used. So much queer culture and queer films are over the top. There’s a lot of naturalism to this world I wanted to bring. I have lived on a queer ranch in Tennessee and others in the Southwest. There was a lot of attention to detail wanting it to feel realistic.
Gary M. Kramer: What is an example of a realistic detail in the film?
Luke Gilford: The mushroom sequence. A lot of drug sequences are super trippy in films, but they were out on the ranch, which is their property, and rolling around in the dirt and cuddling as a group and it was more of a laid-back subtle moment, but it was when Dylan feels part of something for the first time.
Gary M. Kramer: Dylan experiences both harsh realism and has fantasy sequences in the film. Can you talk about his developing his character, an innocent intrigued, bewitched, and seduced?
Luke Gilford: Such is life, right?! That’s the human experience. All within a day we can feel seduced, dazzled, grief, longing, joy, trauma—all of those things. That was part of growing up and coming of age. We have our chosen family, and we have our biological family. I wanted to show that process
of finding your people, but also coming to terms with and healing the relationship with our biological family. That was important to me to depict both of those processes.
Gary M. Kramer: What can you say about filming the rodeo scene?
Luke Gilford: It’s very much informed by my many years in this subculture. I wanted to accurately dignify this world on screen and share it in an authentic light. We were at real rodeos for all those scenes. It was important to me to not recreate any rodeos. We were there with real people and the real community. What you are seeing is it. That fluidity exists in real life. I am so inspired by it.
Gary M. Kramer: Can you talk about the title, National Anthem, which was also the title of your photography book?
Luke Gilford: These are queer people living in red states and not stopping to apologize and explain themselves. They are living their truth every day, bravely. We know how scary a time it is, especially in these red states, where there is this brutal dehumanizing violence every day. And they are still bravely living their truth. Not only that, they are taking back the flag and cowboy archetypes that are traditionally so heteronormative and masculine. They are saying, “I can be a cowboy, too, even if I am nonbinary, or trans, or Black, or a woman.” That’s really what America should symbolize, the freedom to be whatever we want to be. The flag should represent all of us. That’s where the title comes from. It was something I noticed early on at the rodeos, that reclaiming of Americana.
© 2024 Gary M. Kramer
Gary M. Kramer is the author of “Independent Queer Cinema: Reviews and Interviews,” and the co-editor of “Directory of World Cinema: Argentina.” He teaches Short Attention Span Cinema at the Bryn Mawr Film Institute and is the moderator for Cinema Salon, a weekly film discussion group. Follow him on Twitter @garymkramer
Film
Published on July 11, 2024
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