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Ish

Play trailer Poster for Ish 2025 1h 30m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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95% Tomatometer 20 Reviews Popcornmeter 0 Ratings
12-year-old Ismail "Ish" Zia, a British Bangladeshi boy from Luton, grapples with profound loss, fractured friendships, and cultural identity during one transformative summer. Still reeling from his mother's recent death, Ish navigates a strained bond with his best friend Maram, while confronting the harsh realities of being a young brown man in post-9/11 Britain--where suspicion and prejudice amplify his isolation. Family tensions escalate alongside community pressures, forcing Ish to question his place in a world that feels increasingly hostile, as grief threatens to overwhelm his young heart. Amid these challenges, he discovers unexpected allies who offer genuine understanding, helping him rebuild step by step. Through small acts of connection and resilience, Ish learns to channel his pain into personal strength, uncovering that healing emerges from vulnerability and the courage to forge new paths forward--even when surrounded by darkness.

Critics Reviews

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Miriam Balanescu Empire Magazine 5d
4/5
Perretta's impressive first feature is an intoxicating mix of weighty themes, unexpected beauty and teen euphoria, coalescing into a film that has a lot to say that you'll want to savour.  Go to Full Review David Sexton New Statesman 5d
The two boys, cast locally, new to acting, have real rapport. Perretta, co-scripting with Enda Walsh, has made a really affecting drama, successfully melding the political and the personal in a way rarely achieved. Go to Full Review Wendy Ide Observer (UK) 5d
This is wonderfully rich film-making: with an urban collage of a soundscape, crisp editing and extraordinary work by the cast, Ish probes the vulnerable sore spots of young masculinity. Go to Full Review Tom Shone Sunday Times (UK) 5d
3/5
The two actors are friends in real life and it shows in their easy rapport and the way they portray it fracturing. Go to Full Review Dulcie Pearce The Sun (UK) 6d
2/5
While nicely crafted and delivered by the young cast, there are long scenes that feel vastly overrun and distractingly void of dialogue. Go to Full Review James Saynor The Arts Desk 6d
3/5
...Imran Perretta’s autobiographical debut feature, which is touchingly performed, observant and defiantly localised, is a little too tentative to stand out. Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Cast & Crew

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Imran Perretta

Director

Zubin Varla

Hanan

Sagar Arya

Mr. Ahmed

Sudha Bhuchar

Nanu

Robert Ryan

Car buyer

Avin Shah

Naeem
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Ish

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Movie Info

Synopsis 12-year-old Ismail "Ish" Zia, a British Bangladeshi boy from Luton, grapples with profound loss, fractured friendships, and cultural identity during one transformative summer. Still reeling from his mother's recent death, Ish navigates a strained bond with his best friend Maram, while confronting the harsh realities of being a young brown man in post-9/11 Britain--where suspicion and prejudice amplify his isolation. Family tensions escalate alongside community pressures, forcing Ish to question his place in a world that feels increasingly hostile, as grief threatens to overwhelm his young heart. Amid these challenges, he discovers unexpected allies who offer genuine understanding, helping him rebuild step by step. Through small acts of connection and resilience, Ish learns to channel his pain into personal strength, uncovering that healing emerges from vulnerability and the courage to forge new paths forward--even when surrounded by darkness.
Director
Imran Perretta
Producer
Bennett McGhee, Dhiraj Mahey
Screenwriter
Enda Walsh, Imran Perretta
Production Co
Primal Pictures
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 30m
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