Welcome
to Bettie’s Bar, London. 1936.
Between the wars, when homosexuality was punishable by life in prison, a young photographer arrives to cover an illegal gay wedding at an underground Soho club. Pulled into the euphoric celebration, it becomes clear the subjects of his lens are not the only ones hiding secrets.
Supported by:
Inspired by the real queer underground
In 1930s London, homosexuality was seen as a social contagion, sweeping across the country, with the Met Police running their very own Vice Squad tasked with hunting down ‘moral perverts.’ The character of Bettie is inspired by real life landlady Billie Joyce who ran a Soho Members club ‘Billie’s Club’ that attracted a queer clientele. Plain clothes officers ended up raiding the bar in1936, a trial then took place and 21 men and Billie herself were found guilty. Inspired by the real police report from which the film takes its title, Powdered and Dancing reframes a lesser known chapter of queer history as a warning against the resurgent rhetoric facing LGBTQ+ communities today.
PROJECT DETAILS
Written and Directed by: Hugh Wyld
Co-Directed by: Daphne Schmon
Produced by: Alex Newland and Milo Beyts
Genres: 1930s Drama, Thriller, Noir, LGBTQ+
Length: 18 min Short Film
Format: Kodak 16mm Film, Colour
Language: English
Location: London, UK
Writer’s Statement
The inspiration for this film came from an article about unearthed photographs from the 1950s, depicting a wedding between two men. As a queer recently married person, the idea of a time when queer expression was so forbidden, resonated with me on a deep level.
“I wondered what it was like to be so up close and personal with, to flirt (literally) with this underground world before dealing it its death blow?”
as ‘Ronnie’
Alex is best known for his role as the young Alan Turing in ‘The Imitation Game’ for which he won the London Film Critics’ Circle Award for ‘Young British Performer of the Year' and for playing young psychopath James in the Netflix series ‘The End of the F*cking World.’ Alex most recently starred in the upcoming FX series Alien: Earth, Executive Produced by Ridley Scott, released in 2025.