“It’s about what it means to create community in a hostile environment”: Imrah Peretta on Ish at London Film Festival 2025

This debut feature, Ish, directed by Imrah Peretta and co-written with Enda Walsh, is essentially a coming-of-age story set in Luton under the airport flight path and the surrounding streets and woodland. Gritty and urban, the narrative explores the communities within this small commuter town and delivers an authentic portrayal of its society under a monochrome glaze from cinematographer Jermaine Canute Edwards. 

When two best friends, Ish (Farhan Hasnat) and Maram (Yahya Kitana), find themselves and their wider circle of friends under constant surveillance from racist profiling, their fight against the system ends with an undercover police van cornering them in the street, and Maram pulled away for questioning. Whilst Ish returns to the inviting glow of family security, Maram finds himself drawn into a gang where petty theft and setting off fireworks in a forest make for a questionable choices. 

The Upcoming had the pleasure of speaking to Peretta about why he wanted to make this feature, the personal connection he felt to the community and all the things he wanted to bring to screen, from heartbreak to friendship.

Ezelle Alblas

Ish does not have a release date yet.

Read more reviews from our London Film Festival coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the London Film Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Ish here: