Zoe Black
Queer & Confused
Words By: Carolina Fernandez-Bold
Premiering at BFI Flare 2026, Queer & Confused is a short film that follows university students Charlie and Dolly on a night out in 1980s London. It’s a film that captures the mess and chaos of young adulthood; of coming into yourself - as well as coming out to yourself. And fundamentally, it’s a film about friendship.
“I wanted to examine one small moment between two friends, rather than try to contain the grand sweep of a coming out story,” says writer and director Zoe Black. “I wanted to look at the very beginning of that process, when you yourself are still not sure. Accepting that I could be unsure was a big part of what then led me to being comfortable starting that journey.”
So, why the 1980s? Beyond a deep admiration for film and television of the decade (with The Young Ones and Withnail and I cited as reference points), Zoe Black was particularly inspired by the history of London’s Blitz nightclub. Although it ran for just under two years, it was from this space that the New Romantic movement was born, and out of which emerged artists that would go on to reshape culture.
“The images of this very androgynous, very queer movement that sort of erupted at the end of the 70s and the early 80s is something that I found myself really drawn to as I was coming into myself as a non-binary person,” they tell me.
In its setting, the film becomes acknowledgement and celebration of queer presence within history. “Because queer people have always existed. Trans people have always existed.”
At the same time, the emotional beats are highly personal, drawing on Zoe Black’s own experiences. “On one level, I knew that my friends were probably going to be supportive of me being non-binary,” they explain. “But I still had this fear of how it might shift their perceptions of me.”
Progress has certainly been made since the 1980s, but in the current political climate trans rights and lives are still actively threatened, and minimised into talking points in manufactured culture wars. As Zoe Black puts it, “the idea of being gender non-conforming is constantly under attack and up for debate. It can feel really belittling.”
Queer & Confused offers an alternative narrative: one that embraces joy and community. It’s not bigotry that comes between Charlie and Dolly, but rather, a challenge of communication— of articulating something still taking shape. “I think that’s something that’s honestly quite universal, whether or not you’re queer,” they add.
The dialogue between past and present extends beyond the story to the film’s music choices. Zoe Black resists the pull of nostalgia, instead opting for a contemporary track in the climactic club scene (filmed in Dalston’s The Divine). While partly shaped by budget constraints, the music choice is ultimately creative: rather than recreating the sound of the 1980s, they are more interested in capturing its feeling. “I wanted to imagine what it would have actually been like to be at Blitz Club — or our version, Crash Club,” they explain. “I wanted to replicate how raw and exciting the music would have felt.”
Discovered during pre-production, Lambrini Girls’ track Body of Mine immediately clicked with Zoe Black’s vision of the scene. “As soon as I heard the music, I didn’t even have to think twice about it. It felt like it was right there,” they recall.
The choice reflects Zoe Black’s wider approach to the project: reimagining rather than simply replicating the past. “With queer history, there’s always this element of uncovering, but also imagining,” they explain. “On one hand, there’s something sad about that, about all that’s been lost over time. On the other hand, it can lead to imaginative and creative explorations.”
Now, as Queer & Confused premieres, Zoe Black is developing the project into a feature film alongside writer Alannah Lewis. While it’s still early days, they reveal that music will play an even bigger role in Charlie and Dolly’s world, with the friends now forming a band. The short’s events will serve as just the beginning of their story.
Team Credits:
Writer/Director: Zoe Black
Producer: Michalina Cieplinska
Director of Photography: Eden Sandy
Editor: Rebecca Parker Quinn
Production Designer: Ayesha Linton-Whittle
1st Assistant Director: Felicitas Fuchs
Costume Designer: Dorian Angus-Card
Wardrobe Assistant: Mia Seldrup
Hair & Makeup Designer: Cha Chabrat
Art Department Assistant: Emma Janovcova
1st Assistant Camera: Prachi Chandna
2nd Assistant Camera: Mania Khosravilargani
Gaffer: Nitin Rohra
Spark: Stefania Mohottige
Sound Recordist: George Willetts
Sound Designer: Liam Eshghi-Luck
Colourist: Michael Pearce
Runner: Daisy Murphy
Runner/Driver: Jacob Black
Charlie: Thomasin Lawson
Dolly: Olivia Cordell
Ella: Fellany “Fella” le’Geyser
Radio DJ (voice) : Will BF
Nightclub Extras:
Shafa Bhatti
Amy Brown
Katie Brown
Laura Disney
Ella Gold
Katie Marley
Juanita Prieto
Ashwathi Narayanan
Music: Lambrini Girls
BTS Photography: Sofia Salazar Studer
Title & Credit Design: Dora Polce
