Luke Gilford Embraces Gay Rodeos with 'National Anthem'

"My father was in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association," out photographer and filmmaker Luke Gilford, a native of Evergreen, Colorado, tells EDGE. "We traveled all through the Southwest, going to rodeos. That's all my earliest memories," Gilford adds.

The apple hasn't fallen far from the tree, even though Gilford grew up gay. With his acclaimed photo book "National Anthem" (and a headline-making art exhibit of the same title), Gilford brought queer rodeo out of the margins, raising awareness of a distinctly American sporting tradition that mixes machismo and queerness.

It was, perhaps, inevitable. "I just love Western culture," Gilford explains. "I sort of stayed away from it as I got older, because of how homophobic and misogynistic it can be, but then I discovered the International Gay Rodeo Association in 2016. I was just so warmly welcomed by the community and felt this electric charge of belonging."

It's that same electric charge that fills the frames of Gilford's debut feature – also titled "National Anthem" – which is currently in theaters after causing a stir at LGBTQ+ film festivals. When a queer young man named Dylan (Charlie Plummer, "Lean on Pete"), a 20-year-old day laborer in rural New Mexico, finds his way to a better-paying ranch job, it's a boon to him and the family he's trying to help support – namely, his partying mother (Robyn Lively) and his borderline-neglected younger brother.

But this ranch is unlike any other. Called House of Splendor, the operation is home to a happy, queer crew of ranch hands who represent many of the colors on the queer spectrum, from the gentle, non-binary Carrie (Mason Alexander Park) to the transgender Sky (Eve Lindley).

The owner of the Ranch, Pepe (Rene Rosado), is a gay man's fantasy: Handsome and strong, he seems taken with Dylan from the start, and all too happy to welcome his new worker into the fold on a more permanent basis. The only wrinkle? Pepe and Sky are in a relationship – and Dylan has fallen hard for Sky.

The triangle pulses, shimmers, and strains against the blue of the New Mexico sky and the dust of rodeo events – all the hands at House of Splendor compete in the events, and soon Dylan does, too. But how will Dylan balance his family's demands with his need to live his own life, and find his proper place among his new, queer tribe?

EDGE caught up with Luke Gilford to hear his thoughts on his film and gay rodeos.

EDGE: I'm from Wyoming and New Mexico, and you're from Colorado, so I think we might agree that rodeo is the greatest American sport ever – and queer rodeo is probably even better than that.

Luke Gilford: Yes! I mean, the rodeo brings so much of the American mythology out into the open air, and into life. There's nature and animals, and family and community – you've got denim and barbecue, hairspray, nail polish, dirt, all the good things that America provides, and just so much beauty, too.

EDGE: The movie came from a photo book of the same title about queer rodeo. How did you find your way from the book to the movie?

Luke Gilford: I traveled all through the Southwest for about four years making the book, and through that process I connected so deeply with these people. As I was taking their portraits, I really saw myself reflected back, and found so much common ground in the experiences of finding our people, and belonging, and heartbreak, and loss, and what it means to be an American. It just felt like there was more story, and it became my debut feature film.

EDGE: The images can tell a story, but you had to create a plot and characters. How did you go about this?

Luke Gilford: It felt like for my first feature, it really should start from that deeply personal place. So, the way into the story is really much my own – someone discovering this world and becoming the eyes and ears for the audience to discover this world and feel welcomed into it. That felt like the best place to start from, the one that I know so deeply. For a film that's really about the language of the heart, it felt important for that heart to be my own.

EDGE: How did making the photo book, and making music videos, prepare you for making your first feature?

Luke Gilford: Both photography and music videos taught me how to be economical with telling a story visually and without words. And also, to be efficient with time: We shot the film in 17 days. My experience with music videos was helpful for that because you have to work on a very quick timeline in order to make those days.

EDGE: You've got Charlie Plummer, who also starred in Andrew Haigh's "Lean on Pete" starring in your movie. What did he have that you wanted to bring to the film?

Luke Gilford: Charlie's just such a phenomenal talent, and he brings so much nuance and emotional resonance to every scene. A fun fact: As I had just started writing the script for "National Anthem," I did a photo shoot about young actors for V Magazine, and Charlie was one of those actors. They put him in a Western shirt for the shoot. As soon as I saw him, it was just like, "Oh my God, that's Dylan!" He reminded me of a young River Phoenix in "My Own Private Idaho," which is one of my favorite films, and also one of Charlie's favorite films, so that became a touchstone point for both of us. He also is able to bring that sense of wonder and hope that we were trying to communicate. He's just so gifted at that.

EDGE: There's a triangle between Dylan and Pepe and Sky. What exactly is happening with Dylan and Pepe, other than jealousy around Sky?

Luke Gilford: It was so important to me to show a more modern version of masculinity. The cowboy is often such a symbol of violence and domination, and I wanted both Pepe and Dylan to represent the cowboy for today's world – a cowboy who's not afraid to feel, and for there to be tenderness as well as toughness. I think both of them have that mixture of heart and grit. There is this masculine kind of competition between them, but also an attraction – sort of a brotherhood, as well as this sort of territorial feeling from Pepe, and then Dylan wanting to be part of that world and jealous of him [when it comes to Sky]. It's complicated, and I think both of them were able to bring that to life.

EDGE: How important was it for you to cast queer actors in these queer roles?

Luke Gilford: Oh my gosh, there was no question. It's been almost 20 years since "Brokeback Mountain." It was time for there to be a more authentic portrayal of what it means to be a rural queer American.

There's a lot of folks from my book, from the real community, in the film. And for the actors, it was so important for them to be able to be themselves, and for me to be able to collaborate with them and to bring that sense of authenticity. I hope you can feel from watching it that this is an authentic portrayal of what it means to be one of these people living in this beautiful country, and finding and building our lives within it.

EDGE: Speaking of authentic, I got the sense the rodeo scenes were filmed at actual rodeos.

Luke Gilford: Yes, that's absolutely true. That was also extremely important to me from the beginning, for us to be able to film at the real rodeos. Logistically, that can be quite a challenge, but it was so beautiful that our real cast was actually part of the community. Sometimes people at the rodeos didn't even realize we were filming a movie, because I had become so embedded within the community. It was so much the spirit of the film for us to all become like one big family, and for it to all feel very much authentic and real.

EDGE: So, when you're not behind the camera, shooting photos or making a movie about queer rodeo, are you competing in the events?

Luke Gilford: Well, I've watched my father in the rodeo for years, breaking his neck and his back so many times. I'm not super motivated to be jumping on a bull anytime soon. But I've always loved horseback riding and being out there in nature with animals and with community. It's very much a huge part of my experience when I'm not shooting.

"National Anthem" is currently in theaters.

Check out these pics from Luke Gilford's Instagram: