When Imran Perretta was young, he was abruptly pulled by police into a van for questioning. That experience, as well as the death of his mother, inspired him to make Ish, a coming-of-age tale set amongst the British Muslim community. He talks about trauma, designing toilets and making Luton look magnificent
‘It was the moment I lost innocence’: how a childhood stop-and-search led to the British debut movie of the year
When Imran Perretta was young, he was abruptly pulled by police into a van for questioning. That experience, as well as the death of his mother, inspired him to make Ish, a coming-of-age tale set amongst the British...
Imran Perretta always knew that the title of his debut feature film would be “Ish” – short for Ishmail, the name of the 12-year-old boy from Luton at the heart of his story. Only later did people point out the similarity to other coming-of-age films with three letters in the title: Kes by Ken Loach, and Satyajit Ray’s Apu trilogy. Now, as the reviews trickle in, the comparisons to Kes and Apu keep coming. Like them, Ish is a poetic film that grabs you by the heart and pulls you into a child’s perspective on the world.
The response has been lovely, says Perretta, and a relief. “It’s nice that people have compared Ish to those films rather than Kidulthood. I did worry about that.” Why, because it features kids speaking in slang and getting into scrapes? He nods. “I always say that I don’t read reviews, but of course I’ve read every single one. I can’t help myself. And we’ve been really lucky; the reviews have been amazing. A couple have been middling. Then you read them, and the subtext is: ‘I thought it was going to be like Kidulthood.’”
Source: The Guardian
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