Adam Charles (Clayton Chitty), the lead character in the affecting new nine-minute short film Dominant Chord, is a bona fide country music star. He’s had his third single reach number one, his last album has just gone platinum, he’s headlining sold out shows across the country and he’s been nominated for several CMA’s. Adam is settling into his stardom – and it’s great. Except for one small thing.
Adam is gay, and for years Adam has kept his love-life under wraps while building his career – because the common thinking is that country music is not ready for a gay country star.
So Adam and his partner Brian (Sean Poague) made the bargain to stay in the closet, but as Adam’s popularity and success grows so does the goalpost of Adam’s coming out. Brian is tired of the trail of broken promises and sets in motion a plan that rapidly spirals out of control and forces Adam to make an impossible choice.
“I walked away from country music years ago because I felt it was a closed door to me,” says Dominant Chord writer-director Jeremy Leroux. “LGBTQ+ youth should not grow up feeling some doors are closed to them because of who they are. It’s time to kick down those doors.”
Watch the trailer for Dominant Chord below. The film is now available on Dekkoo.