ISH
ISH
If you don’t decide who you are, other people will decide for you – Ish (Farhan Hasnat), a Bangladeshi teenager living in Luton, is told. Plenty of people are ready to define him, not least those who represent the British authorities. Yet they persist in reducing his existence to that of an intruder and a threat to the white race and to Judeo-Christian European civilisation.
Imran Perretta, the audiovisual artist and director of ISH, points out that Ish’s age makes little difference to the British police, and that this is a common experience for young people from migrant backgrounds – one he has lived through himself.
Winner of the BIFA award for breakthrough production, ISH portrays the reality faced by its teenage protagonist and his friend Maram (Yahya Kitana), forcing them to leave childhood behind far too soon. Racial profiling and random police stops leave them living under constant pressure, fear and a sense of being watched. Before long, this begins to affect even their friendship, defined by innocence and brotherly closeness, ultimately putting their bond to the test. For the first time, the boys are confronted with painful loss, suffering and, finally, the brutality of adulthood.
Poetic and deeply affecting, Perretta’s debut avoids the familiar conventions of social realism that portray cities and communities solely in bleak tones. Through Perretta’s lens, Luton – for all its stark inequalities and monochrome palette – still holds moments of wonder for the boys. There is magic, too, in the chemistry between the young actors, who are friends in real life. Although the screenplay by acclaimed playwright Enda Walsh (DIE MY LOVE, I SEE BUILDINGS FALL LIKE LIGHTNING) is full of empathy and sensitivity to the human experience, it is their openness, their glances and the energy between them that form the true heart of Perretta’s film.
Text: Michał Sołtysek
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