Imran Perretta Selected for BAFTA Breakthrough After 'Ish' Box Office Run

Writer-director Imran Perretta’s debut feature Ish exceeded initial box office projections in the United Kingdom. The film, which centers on two teenagers facing police harassment, recently concluded its initial theatrical run with performance metrics that surpassed the team’s financial forecasts.

Perretta was named to the 2026 U.K. BAFTA Breakthrough cohort on Wednesday. The selection includes support from Netflix, providing the director with resources to develop his next projects. This recognition follows the film’s victory at the 2025 Venice Critics’ Week audience award.

The movie stars Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana, and Sudha Bhuchar. It was shot in Luton, a city near London, depicting a story of racial profiling and the consequences of a police stop-and-search. Perretta noted that the film’s setting in a location often defined by crime in media coverage adds a layer of specificity to the narrative.

Since its release, the film has circulated through a global festival circuit and community screenings. Organizers in Germany, the United States, and Russia have programmed the work. In Paris, local programmers scheduled screenings during recent civil unrest, citing the film’s themes of police power and community organizing as relevant to local discussions.

Perretta attributed the film’s wide reach to its alignment with current political climates. He observed that Western nations have expanded police authorities, creating a sense of asymmetric power that resonates with audiences in the U.K., France, Italy, and the U.S. “It has been amazing. There’s been this amazing spread of different types of audiences, from activist audiences or certainly politically engaged audiences to cinephiles, but then also ‘normal filmgoers,’” Perretta said.

The director described the post-release period as a new phase of the film’s life cycle. “I come from the art world, so for me, the life cycle of a film is really a new experience,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. He noted that the theatrical debut, initially seen as a conclusion, instead generated sustained engagement through various screening formats.

Perretta is currently returning to screenwriting. His new project examines property, land, and the concept of ownership in Britain. He described the story as a political work focusing on the social and emotional friction arising from who controls assets. Before that, he is working on music projects and an exhibition at Tate Britain titled The Destructors.

The exhibition explores coming of age for Asian Muslim men in Britain after 2001. Perretta said he hopes to see more stories set in Luton on screen, provided they portray the area accurately. He emphasized that the city offers a unique backdrop for cinematic work, encouraging other filmmakers to consider the location for their projects.