Click here to listen to the interview.
Luke Gilford, San Francisco, CA 6/24/24
I do love a provocative observation, and I can’t think of one more puckish than Luke Gilford’s assertion that rodeo culture is a form of drag. Naturally, that’s where I stared when I spoke to him on June 24, 2024 the day after a fabulous screening of his film, NATIONAL ANTHEM, at the2024 Frameline Film Festival. The narrative film, his feature film directorial debut, began as a book of photographs that Gilford had taken of the queer rodeo over many years, and we went on to talk about turning photos into a fiction film; the enthusiastic way Charlie Plummer (and his younger brother) dove into drag; and why some scenes may not be autobiographical but do have an element of wish-fulfillment to them.
We finished up with why Mason Alexander Park’s performance is so integral to the film, not to mention its heart; the new twist on the hula hoop Gilford once explored; and Winning the Critics Choice Award Breakthrough Director at the inaugural CCA Celebration of LGBTQ+ Cinema and Television.
NATIONAL ANTHEM tells the story of Dylan, played by Charlie Plummer, a construction worker with dreams of leaving his small town who instead finds the family is has never had with the local queer rodeo. There he finds first love, a new passion, and the magic of drag. The film co-stars Eve Lindley, Rene Rosado, Mason Alexander Park, and Robyn Lively.
Gilford directed from a script he co-wrote with David Largman Murray, and is based on his book, also called National Anthem, which photographically documents members of the queer rodeo.
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