Rodeo competitor Joe Barnett. Photo by Sarah Pynoo.
Matt Livadary describes the cowboy code as “lending a hand to all”, and accepting all individuals. In his film, Queens and Cowboys: A Straight Year on the Gay Rodeo, the cowboys are perfect representations of the cowboy code – building a great community, where all of them can simply be themselves. I spoke to one of the documentary’s subjects, Joe Barnett, a few years ago when the film was being funded on Kickstarter. Barnett is a teacher here in Calgary, as well as an award-winning rodeo competitor.
In his director’s statement on the film website, Livadary writes what inspired him to make the film and embark on his journey:
“I was at a “straight” rodeo in Colorado and sat next to a lesbian couple in the stands. They informed me that they rarely come to straight rodeo events. What do you mean “straight” rodeo events? It was the first time I’d ever heard of the gay rodeo. But the moment I did, I immediately understood why the distinction was necessary. It was clear to me that a documentary would be far more meaningful than a scripted show. So I quit my job and went on a three-year journey.”
I ran into both Barnett and Livadary at the film’s Canadian premiere this past Sunday at the Calgary International Film Festival. Both were very excited now that the film is finished and touring the festival circuit, and for good reason – it’s a beautiful, inspiring story of an incredibly fun community. Queens and Cowboys follows five competitors trials and triumphs over one season of the International Gay Rodeo Association. Livadary ended up with over 800 hours of footage, but he managed to cut it down into a great film. He even attended rodeo school, but the footage didn’t end up making the final cut – neither did the footage of the many cowboys that flirted with the director.
A few of the faces you’ll see in the film are competitors in Strathmore, Alberta’s own gay rodeo, hosted annually by the Alberta Rockies Gay Rodeo Association. The rodeo takes place in June each year, and as well as being one of the most popular LGBT rodeos internationally, also has a music festival – it’s an enormously fun weekend. They also have non-traditional rodeo events – if you want to see competitors attempt to dress up a goat, the Strathmore Rodeo is the place to be.
If you’d still like to catch the film, you can see it on Tuesday, September 23rd, at 7:00 p.m. at the Globe Cinema. Tickets are available at the Calgary International Film Festival’s website, or at the door. For more info about the film visit: http://www.queensandcowboys.com/.