‘Ish’ Filmmakers on Turning Real-Life Trauma Into a Lyrical Debut About Racial Injustice

A racially profiled police stop-and-search sets two best friends on a collision course in Imran Perretta’s debut feature film Ish, which he co-wrote with Enda Walsh (Die My Love, Hunger) and developed with producer Dhiraj Mahey through their company Primal Pictures with BBC Film.

The film, which won the audience award at the Venice Critics’ Week, stars Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana and Sudha Bhuchar and tells the story of Ish and Maram, two barely teenagers who “endure police harassment and its seismic repercussions,” according to a note on the website for the 69th edition of the BFI London Film Festival (Lff) where it will be screening on Wednesday. “Naturalistic performances, an atypical score (also composed by multi-disciplinary artist Perretta) and lyrical, monochrome images make this a standout British film, which stands up for characters who are too often marginalized — both onscreen and off.”

Writer-director Perretta, producer Mahey and co-writer…