Ish, Imran Perretta's Debut Feature, Joins the BAFTA Breakthrough 2026 List

Imran Perretta, a writer-director who was previously best known as a multi-disciplinary artist, has been named to the 2026 U.K. BAFTA Breakthrough cohort. The scheme, which is supported by Netflix, picks out emerging British talent. Perretta's entry point is Ish, his debut feature.

The Hollywood Reporter published an interview with him on 4 November 2026 about the film's journey, its surprises and its themes.

The story follows two young teenagers, Ish and Maram, who are confronted with police harassment and its consequences. At its centre is a U.K. police stop-and-search that sets two best friends on a collision course. The film deals with racial profiling, the practice of singling people out because of their ethnicity.

The cast is Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana and Sudha Bhuchar. The film was shot in Luton, a town north of London.

Perretta told The Hollywood Reporter that the story feels timely. He said many Western countries have taken what he called an authoritarian turn, with police being given wider powers. That is the context he gave for why the film has found an audience beyond its home country.

Ish has already travelled. It won the audience award at the 2025 Venice Critics' Week, the parallel section of the Venice Film Festival that showcases first and second features. The film is also listed in the programme of the Marrakech International Film Festival, which is scheduled to run from 20 to 28 November 2026.

Festival slots like Marrakech matter for a debut. They give a film a chance to meet buyers, distributors and audiences before a wider release is set. No release date or distribution deal for Ish has been reported, so the next stage of its life is still open.

For now, the news is a young filmmaker's first feature moving from a festival prize to a national spotlight. Perretta's move from art into film has also been noted by the industry, and his new film is the first public test of that shift.