BAFTA Names Imran Perretta to 2026 Breakthrough Cohort

Imran Perretta was named to the 2026 U.K. BAFTA Breakthrough cohort, a program backed by Netflix. The designation follows the international success of his debut feature, Ish, which has gained traction on the festival circuit over the past year.

The film stars Farhan Hasnat, Yahya Kitana, and Sudha Bhuchar. It tells the story of two teenage friends, Ish and Maram, whose bond is tested after a police stop-and-search. The narrative is set in Luton, a city near London that Perretta notes often receives media coverage for crime rather than its culture.

Perretta previously worked as a multi-disciplinary artist. He described the process of making a feature film as a new experience. While he anticipated the festival run, he viewed the theatrical release as a fresh start rather than an end. He stated that the film’s performance in critical reception and box office results exceeded his initial projections.

Audiences for Ish have expanded beyond traditional moviegoers to include activist groups and general public viewers. The film has been screened at community events in Germany, the United States, and Russia. In Paris, programmers selected the film for showing during a period of civil unrest, citing its relevance to local debates on police power.

Perretta attributes the film’s broad appeal to its exploration of themes that feel urgent in many Western nations. He pointed to a perceived authoritarian turn in the U.S., France, Italy, and the U.K., where police powers have expanded. He described surveillance and police interaction as universal phenomena that spark conversation regardless of location.

He credits the film’s resonance to its specific setting in Luton. Perretta wants the city represented on screen more often, provided the stories are told with fairness. He encouraged other filmmakers to shoot in the area, calling it an amazing place for cinematic exploration.

Perretta is currently working on several creative projects. He has a music endeavor and an exhibition at Tate Britain titled The Destructors. That exhibition examines coming of age for Asian Muslim men in Britain after the September 11 attacks. He is also developing a new screenwriting project focused on property, land, and British ownership. He describes this work as a political exploration of the frictions arising from ownership structures.