100 Boyfriends Mixtape

Dancer, musician, artist, and publisher of the cult queer zine Fag School, Brontez Purnell makes his directorial debut with this semi-autobiographical "video mix tape" by produced Jack Shamama and NakedSword Film Works. Relying on his punk rock aesthetic to give the world a peek into his singularly unique perspective, 100 Boyfriends Mixtape takes the viewer on an unforgettable ride that's as audacious as it is experimental.

Set in an urban fairytale, DeShawn (an unlikely anti-hero) is smack-dabbing in the middle of a peculiar crossroads. He is haunted by the ghosts of one hundred men: ex-“boyfriends,” in addition to the ghosts of everyone they dated. His days are filled with spiraling epiphanies and lucid, reckless bohemianism fueled by systemic poverty and HIV ennui. In this particular sketch he is relating his philosophy of the world to an unknown caller on his landline telephone while magically shrink-fitting a new pair of jeans that he recently shoplifted from Levi’s.

100 Boyfriends Mixtape 3: Fuck Boy Anthem/How I Spent My Summer Vacation is a choreofilm/video zine mixtape that was made in intervals in the summer of 2020; it’s one of three mixtapes in a series Purnell conceptualized as video zine versions of his 20-year running print zine Fag School. The videos also give his recently published book of short stories, flash fiction, and stories told-in-verse, 100 Boyfriends, its name and inspiration.