Within the folds of multihyphenated identities and an ever-challenged sense of belonging, UK-based creatives Ayesha Fateh and Bilal Fateh bring their debut film, Brit-ish, to life. The short documentary explores the lived experiences of 18 young people residing in the UK. Each offering their own view into what it’s like to navigate multiple worlds at once.

In Brit-ish, Ayesha and Bilal gather these voices to confront what it means to come of age multicultural in a country that has profoundly shaped them but hasn’t always fully embraced them. “There’s all these huge, huge factors that make us up as a British person,” Ayesha says. “It’s great to have them, but it’s also equally as confusing sometimes.” What started as a personal curiosity, “Are there others who feel this way?”, quickly turned into a communal reflection.

Filmed over a single, packed day, in a raw, intimate setting, the environment was intentionally casual and familiar. Friends sat close together, background chatter left audible in the final cut. The goal was clear: honesty, not polish. “We didn’t want it to feel like an interrogation. We just wanted people to offer raw, comfortable answers. Even though we asked everybody the same questions, we got loads of different answers, but also ones that naturally lined up.” Bilal says.

Official Trailer for ‘Brit-ish’

At its heart, Brit-ish is an exploration of growing up multicultural in the UK. The beauty, the contradictions, and the ongoing negotiation of identity. The film doesn’t aim to praise or condemn the UK. Instead, it allows complexity to breathe.

“There are some really beautiful stories, and some really upsetting ones,” Ayesha says. “It was intense. The best thing I could do was listen. Not pretend to understand, not offer empty words, but just be present. And I learned so much in that process.”

While the creators grew up in Bradford, a city with a large South Asian presence, many of their interviewees came from predominantly white areas where racism and isolation shaped their experiences. The contrast was stark, but the film makes room for both. The joy of finding a tight-knit community and the pain of being made to feel foreign.

One of the film’s most compelling aspects is how it holds these contradictions. Pride and shame, comfort and alienation, side by side. The interviews often touch on the duality of being both British and something else. Of being seen and unseen.

The title Brit-ish says it plainly. There’s pride in being British, but with an asterisk. “Of course, we’re never going to be fully British,” Bilal says. “But we can still be proud of that side of us. The language we speak, the culture we’re part of.”

Faith, too, subtly weaves its way into the film and its making. Though not the central focus, the creators, and many of their interviewees are Muslim, and that commonality threads through the conversations. From post-interview group prayers to reflections on wearing the hijab in public, the film touches on how spirituality coexists with cultural identity. “It was beautiful,” Bilal recalls of the filming day. “To see people who practice their deen while contributing to their art, without compromising either… that was special.”

For Ayesha, one of the most powerful takeaways was simply feeling less alone. “I’ve definitely learned a lot and felt more confident owning the fact that I have these three different sides to me. We heard the exact same silly questions being asked of all of us growing up. That shared experience, it’s validating.”

The creators hope that Brit-ish does more than just reflect. They want it to reach people who’ve never had to think about identity this way. People who might be ignorant, not out of malice, but because they’ve never had to ask the same questions.

“At the very least, we want them to learn something,” Bilal says. “Even if they don’t agree, even if they feel uncomfortable, that means it made an impact.”

And for those watching from within the community, those who’ve felt ish their entire lives, Ayesha hopes the film rekindles a sense of pride. “It’s easy to lose that in a Western country. Sometimes people don’t even tell others where they’re from, out of shame. Hopefully after watching this, they won’t feel that anymore.”