Image+Nation
VOCABULARY

VOCABULARY

ZHIZI HAO | UNITED KINGDOM | 2026 | 17 MIN | ENGLISH + MANDARIN EST

ZHIZI HAO | UNITED KINGDOM | 2026 | 17 MIN | ENGLISH + MANDARIN EST

VIRTUALShort

Subtitles: English

Synopsis

Andy, a young Chinese newcomer, arrives in London's gay scene without understanding its slang or unwritten rules. Over three sex-dates, he stumbles through the unspoken vocabulary of desire, love and belonging while navigating racism, cultural difference and connection.

Filmmaker Bio

Zhizi Hao is a Chinese writer, director and producer based in London. His films have screened and received recognition at festivals including the Shanghai International Film Festival, Fribourg International Film Festival, London Short Film Festival and Scottish Queer International Film Festival. His previous film A Firecracker Story was featured on Nowness Asia and Nowness China. A former BAFTA China-UK Scholar and mentee of Andrew Haigh, Hao is a BAFTA Connect member and co-founder of First Tone Productions.

Director's Statement

In 2014, I moved to London, imagining queer liberation – and plenty of sex. Sex became my crash course in British slang and queer politics. But as a chubby Chinese boy, my body was categorised: fetishised ("cute panda") or invisible ("not into Asians"). I adapted, then realised I'd translated myself out of my own skin. Vocabulary exposes gay London's unspoken rules and colonial echoes while celebrating our clumsy, hopeful connections – until we stop auditioning for belonging.

Producer

Jack Haynes

Writer

Zhizi Hao

Cast

  • Zhizi Hao
  • Shivi Hotwani
  • Anthony Shuster
  • Josh Hitchman-Pinnock
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image
Image

Also playing with

PosterShort
DISTANCE14 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

A young Swiss-Tunisian tries to reconnect with his parents, despite the tensions and taboos associated with his homosexuality.

PosterShort
EVEN WHEN YOU CRY8 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

A photojournalist retreats to a small seaside town in Sicily to grieve and remember a former lover. There, an unexpected friendship with a neighbour across the balcony develops into a playful exchange that gradually exposes vulnerability and hidden truths.

PosterShort
NIKOLA, NIKOLA17 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

At 3AM in Skopje, seventeen-year-old Nikola sneaks out to meet a forty-year-old man he has been messaging online. When their car becomes stuck in remote woods, isolation strips away fantasy and forces Nikola to confront power, desire and possible danger.

PosterShort
NOT BUILT TO LAST20 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

In Rotterdam, a city rebuilt from memory and shaped by modernity, local architect Daniel guides Emre, a visitor from Istanbul, through the city. As the day unfolds, their professional tour gradually reveals differences in freedom, identity and belonging between them.

PosterShort
CHULO15 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

Gael visits their family in Puerto Rico at the height of summer, and soon meets Mateo, a handsome local who changes their life forever.

PosterShort
DON'T TAKE MY JOY AWAY7 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

In the Shatila Palestinian camp in Lebanon, two friends, Omar and Omar, find moments of joy amid hardship until sudden violence forces them to confront loss and survival.

PosterShort
DISTANCE14 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

A young Swiss-Tunisian tries to reconnect with his parents, despite the tensions and taboos associated with his homosexuality.

PosterShort
EVEN WHEN YOU CRY8 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

A photojournalist retreats to a small seaside town in Sicily to grieve and remember a former lover. There, an unexpected friendship with a neighbour across the balcony develops into a playful exchange that gradually exposes vulnerability and hidden truths.

PosterShort
NIKOLA, NIKOLA17 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

At 3AM in Skopje, seventeen-year-old Nikola sneaks out to meet a forty-year-old man he has been messaging online. When their car becomes stuck in remote woods, isolation strips away fantasy and forces Nikola to confront power, desire and possible danger.

PosterShort
NOT BUILT TO LAST20 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

In Rotterdam, a city rebuilt from memory and shaped by modernity, local architect Daniel guides Emre, a visitor from Istanbul, through the city. As the day unfolds, their professional tour gradually reveals differences in freedom, identity and belonging between them.

PosterShort
CHULO15 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

Gael visits their family in Puerto Rico at the height of summer, and soon meets Mateo, a handsome local who changes their life forever.

PosterShort
DON'T TAKE MY JOY AWAY7 minutesThis programme includes 7 filmsBETWEEN MEN98 minutes

In the Shatila Palestinian camp in Lebanon, two friends, Omar and Omar, find moments of joy amid hardship until sudden violence forces them to confront loss and survival.