BFI Distribution has acquired U.K.-Ireland theatrical rights to Imran Perretta’s debut “Ish,” which premiered earlier this year in Venice’s Critics’ Week, where it won the Audience Award, before going on to compete for the Sutherland Award at the BFI London Film Festival. Dhiraj Mahey won the breakthrough producer prize for the film at the British Independent Film Awards.
The distributor is scheduling a release for next year. Global Constellation handles worldwide sales, and brokered the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.
“Ish” follows 12-year-old best friends Ish and Maram, who wrestle to hold onto their friendship in the wake of a police stop and search. As the ripples take hold, the boys try to make sense of the men they are becoming – and how “letting go” can be the hardest part of growing up.
The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw described the film as “a compassionate, poignant and poetic urban pastoral about young masculinity, in which racial profiling pushes teen friends apart.”
Laura Dos Santos, BFI Distribution’s head of acquisitions, said: “It is an impressive achievement for Imran Perretta to have directed, penned and scored ‘Ish’ – his gorgeously immersive, empathetic feature debut. The film also showcases the brilliance of many other British and Irish talent such as cinematographer Jermaine Canute Edwards, co-writer Enda Walsh and the electrifying leading duo of non-professional local actors Farhan Hasnat and Yahya Kitana. The Audience Award won in Venice shows its potential to connect with people, and we cannot wait to present it to audiences in its home territory.”
Co-written by Perretta and Enda Walsh (“Hunger”), “Ish” is produced by Primal Pictures’ Mahey (“The Ghoul,” which was BAFTA nominated in 2018 for Outstanding Debut by British Writer, Director or Producer) and Bennett McGhee (“Mogul Mowgli,” which was BAFTA nominated in 2021 for Outstanding British Film, and “Brooklyn”), in association with Good Chaos’ Mike Goodridge (“Triangle of Sadness,” “Santosh”) and Home Team.
The film is financed by BBC Film and the BFI, awarding National Lottery funding, with additional support provided by U.K.-based media financier Calculus Media, and Dorian Grinspan’s Out of Order. Executive producers are Claudia Yusef for BBC Film, Ama Ampadu for the BFI, Goodridge and Yoav Rosenberg for Good Chaos, John Glencross and Mariyah Dosani for Calculus Media, and Dorian Grinspan and Eric Kuhn (“Grand Theft Hamlet”) for Out of Order. Kuhn is also an exec producer.
Perretta, a London-based writer, director, composer and visual artist, achieved critical acclaim in the world of contemporary art, receiving the prestigious Turner Prize bursary in 2020 for his work “The Destructors,” which has been shown in major institutions in the U.K. and internationally.
Perretta walks in the footsteps of other notable British film directors who have transitioned from the world of contemporary art to filmmaking, including Clio Barnard and Steve McQueen, to name but two, often pushing the boundaries of visual storytelling.
The film stars young newcomers Farhan Hasnat and Yahya Kitana in the leads, with cinematography by Jermaine Canute Edwards (“My Father’s Shadow”), editing by Adam Biskupski (“Mogul Mowgli”), score by Perretta and sound design by Jens Rosenlund Petersen and Nina Hartstone (“Bohemian Rhapsody,” “Saltburn”), who also received a nomination at the 2025 BIFA Awards for their work on “Ish” for Best Sound.
