A British Bangladeshi boy navigates friendship, loss and the pressures of cultural identity

Still reeling from his mother’s death, twelve‑year‑old Ish struggles with a strained bond with his best friend Maram and the rising suspicion directed at Muslims in post‑9/11 Britain. Over one transformative summer, family tensions and community pressures intensify, and Ish discovers unexpected allies who help him rebuild, finding resilience through vulnerability and connection. Shot in stark black and white, this powerful depiction of growing up in a divided Britain finds poetry within hardship and sits proudly within the impressive canon of youth‑led social‑realist cinema shaped by filmmakers like Loach, De Sica and Truffaut.

Director: Imran Perretta
Cast: Zubin Varla, Sagar Arya, Sudha Bhuchar, Stuart Whelan, Stefan Mihalache