Lets see what all of Michael's exes have to say about this.
If you want to meet someone, shake their hand, if you want to know what they think of themselves, read their diary. If you want to truly understand their essence, speak with all the people around them. ALL MY BOYFRIEND'S GIRLFRIENDS is an experiment to create the truest portrait of a single individual. As told through a comprehensive series of interviews of people he has been intimate with throughout his life we meet Michael and learn about his romantic past. We will never meet or see Michael so our only understanding of him is told through this history of lovers. By meeting these people we get a more honest and complete understanding of him than any one of them could possibly share. The film enters a culture made of up mostly monogamous heterosexual relationships and upends those stereotypes. In this film our main character defies these boundaries. Through this lens we will see a village, mostly of women, whom shaped and were shaped by Michael. We will meet Justine, Michael’s first kiss who works as director of a museum in Honolulu. Jojo, someone he has been casually sleeping with for over a decade who works as a restaurant manager in Santa Rosa. Nina, the one that got away, who works as a human rights lawyer currently getting her PhD in Amsterdam. And dozens more. These people will tell us stories about Michael; when they met him, what he was like and what impact he had on their lives. The film will show areas in which Michael changed, but also ways he remained constant. Was he emotionally distant? Did one partner insist that he always do the dishes and so all partners afterwards attest to his excellent kitchen hygiene? They’ll also describe what he looks like, offering a range of heights and body types (providing revealing insight into the power/fallibility of memory), as well as varying styles of facial hair and fashion. Does he repeatedly date the same type of person? Does he learn to be a good cook, a generous lover, an active listener? Why Michael? He is both remarkable and unremarkable. It is a little tricky to describe Michael himself because we are just acquaintances. This is by design because I don’t want my personal relationship with the subject to bias the interviews. I want to go in blind, learning about Michael the same way the audience will - only through the interviews. From my initial phone calls I understand that Michael embraces polyamory and leaves a large trail of intrigue and broken hearts. The women I spoke with describe an aspiring screenwriter who is relentlessly charming and adores his cat, Alfonso. He has loved greatly and repeatedly but does not aspire towards marriage or parenthood. He has a “death bed” barometer for relationships – is this the person I want beside me when I die? If not, it's not serious. He spent years living communally, saving his pennies earned from tending bar before ultimately being able to own several bars himself. ALL MY BOYFRIENDS GIRLFRIENDS is about Michael, but it's really about love stories. How love stories tell us who we are, and how we talk about them tells us about the moment we live in. I believe that even the most boring person, if explored through their love stories, would be engrossing because the choices that we make and the wake that we leave behind are inherently fascinating. My intention is to explore and play with that process in this film. Michael has given me access to this story and a lengthy list of people to contact. I have already done initial zoom interviews where everyone agreed to participate in the film. Some of them have also offered to help track down other people that Michael might not have contact info for.
