“These Spaces Are Sacred” | Luke Gilford, National Anthem

Courtesy of LD Entertainment.

In Luke Gilford’s National Anthem, a 21-year-old construction worker in New Mexico joins a community of queer rodeo performers in search of their own version of the American dream.

Screening Thursday, May 9 at 6:00 p.m., at the Music Box (get your tickets here), as part of the Chicago Critics Film Festival, the film stars Charlie Plummer as Dylan, the de facto father figure to his little brother, who works odd jobs to help the family get by.  

One day, Dylan finds himself with the opportunity to work at a ranch, where he is welcomed by a vibrant community of 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, and begins to forge the confidence to explore his own identity.

Writer/director Gilford, making his feature film directorial debut, sets his moving and exhilarating cinematic reinvention of the coming-of-age story against stunning landscapes to boldly reimagine a hopeful exploration of first love, found family and self-discovery.  National Anthem features Plummer in a star-making turn with a stellar supporting cast featuring dynamic performances from Lindley, Rene Rosado, Mason Alexander Park, and Robyn Lively.

Ahead of National Anthem screening at the Chicago Critics Film Festival, Gilford graciously took the time to answer this year’s CCFF filmmaker questionnaire. Below, his individual responses. 

How did you first become interested in filmmaking? What was your path toward directing your first film? 

When I was growing up, photojournalism was one of my main portals to the outside world. Every morning, I would look through my parent's newspaper, searching for interesting images that told stories or moved me in one way or another. 

I’m an only child, so I also spent a lot of time alone in my room. I discovered the Sundance and IFC channels on TV and became obsessed with Y Tu Mamá También when I was around 13 — definitely before I was old enough to fully understand it. 

For my 15th birthday, I gathered some friends, and we took the train into the city to watch Gus Van Sant’s Elephant. I remember my friends were so disturbed and confused as to why I loved films like this so much. I couldn’t even explain what was pulling me so strongly to independent storytelling. I eventually studied art at the University of California—Los Angeles (UCLA) and focused on photography. When I became established as a photographer, musicians started asking me to direct videos for them, which became my own version of film school. 

What inspired you to make the film you're bringing to the festival?

I wanted to start from a deeply personal place with my first feature film. I was born in Colorado, and my father was in the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association. I spent my childhood in the mainstream rodeo circuit—an institution that brings American mythology out into the open air, but that is also rooted in conservatism and homophobia. 

It wasn’t until I discovered the International Gay Rodeo Association that I began to see myself as part of a rodeo family. I spent over four years traveling through the Southwest to photograph this community. While I was making a monograph of this work, I felt deep down that the portraits only scratched the surface in terms of storytelling about this beautiful yet radical and subversive subculture. So, I started writing about my own experiences with coming of age, falling in love, and discovering this community, which eventually became the script for National Anthem.

Luke Gilford, writer/director of National Anthem.

Tell us about a film that you consider a guiding influence (whether it has informed your overarching vision as a filmmaker, directly informed the title you're bringing to the festival, or both).

My Own Private Idaho was paradigm-shifting for me. It helped inspire me to bring actors together with real people who are actually part of the queer rodeo community. Also, the concept of Idaho in that film is a safe space, which is very much how the queer rodeos and ranches function in real life. When I shared the National Anthem script with my dream lead actor, Charlie Plummer, he called and told me how My Own Private Idaho is such a deeply meaningful film to him as well. River Phoenix's performance became a North Star for us in developing Dylan's character and guiding Charlie's performance. 

Courtesy of LD Entertainment.

Tell us about a location that's held significance to the film you're bringing to the festival: a setting where filming took place, a geographic area that provided a source of inspiration, or another type of space that comes to mind for you in thinking about the film. What made this place so special?

The location of the House of Splendor in National Anthem is inspired by real ranches and homesteads that I’ve lived on throughout the south and the southwest United States. To me, these spaces are sacred—and sadly even more and more essential for the safety and freedom of queer people in America. 

The theatrical experience brings us together to celebrate artistic experience and expand our horizons as human beings. Tell us about a memorable theatrical experience from your life.

The first time I saw Safe, by Todd Haynes, in a theatre with my friends was a transcendent and spiritual experience. I’ve never been the same since that night. 

National Anthem screens Thursday, May 9, at 6:00 p.m, as part of the Chicago Critics Film Festival (May 3–9, at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago). Get your tickets now.