Ish (2026) Film Review: Refreshing, Knotty Drama

Imran Perretta’s Luton-set, naturalism-soaked feature debut, Ish, is consistently dramatically compelling, despite a cluttered screenplay.

Perretta doesn’t always navigate this crowded thematic spectrum perfectly, sometimes struggling with the plethora of details, but the artistic vision driving Ish forward is always impressive, helping to create a compelling, realistic narrative.

Hasnat is the central character here, the titular Ish, a young teenager of around 13 or 14 years of age. He lives in Luton with his father Naeem (Avin Shah, of Everest), older sister Samira (Joy Crookes), and grandmother Nanu (Sudha Bhuchar, of After Love). The family unit is tight, but straining under the grief of losing Ish and Samira’s mother recently. It creates a void that each character struggles to face or fill. An outlet for Ish is best friend Maram; we first meet the pair running around the woods of a local park, crafting a makeshift base where they can sit and watch YouTube videos together. It’s a warm, welcoming opening, shot in delicate and crisp black-and-white by Jermaine Canute Edwards (My Father’s Shadow). The choice of colour tone is no gimmick, instead helping to craft a realistic world of fine details. 

Ish isn’t solely about two youngsters having fun. As the boys bridge the gap into adolescence, they become increasingly aware of the systematic racism that runs through British society, most notably within institutions such as the police. The turning point in both film and friendship comes when an aggressive stop-and-search takes place; Maram is manhandled into the back of a van, then promptly chucked out, whilst Ish runs. It causes tension between the two, with Maram both enraged at his friend’s actions and also at his unjust handling by the law. Ish contains classic tropes of coming-of-age stories—teenagers trying to act cool, worrying about social status, mistreating friends—but it also has added layers of societal commentaries, invigorating a genre that has been seen countless times in film history.

Perhaps because of this widely encompassing nature, Ish falters. Perretta and co-writer Enda Walsh (Die, My Love) are working with many themes here: the grief of losing a loved one; adolescent tensions; islamophobia; the Palestinian genocide; racist profiling by police. It’s a lot to cram in, especially into the tight runtime of 87 minutes, and it causes some of these elements to be either underdeveloped or wholly lost. Nevertheless, a lot of it works. As a Palestinian-British teenager, Maram is a compelling character, one clearly influenced by his father and what he reads on the news about what is happening in Palestine. Perretta and Walsh’s script frequently shines, rife with moments of anger and cutting social commentary.

The uneven, busy screenplay doesn’t detract from the overall naturalism of Ish. Hasnat and Kitana shine in their lead roles, their chemistry contributing to their invigorating friendship and eventual tension. Ish and Maram are inseparable for so much of the film, and the distance that branches between them might never be bridged—something that happens to so many friendships from childhood, dissolving into memory as people get older. Musician Crookes, here in her acting debut, also shines as a characterful supporting role. A lot happens in Ish, the 87-minute runtime zipping by with high octane energy, and despite the occasional overcrowding, all of it remains memorable.

Ish will be released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland on 31 July 2026.