Pillion

The directorial debut of Harry Lighton, based on Adam Mars-Jones' novel Box Hill, Pillion premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Best Screenplay prize and the Palm Dog for the most memorable canine moment. Distributed by A24 in the US and by I Wonder Pictures in Italy, where it opened on February 12, 2026 under the title Pillion - Amore senza freni, the film follows the relationship between Colin, played by Harry Melling, and the enigmatic biker Ray, a magnetic Alexander Skarsgard, exploring BDSM dynamics with a sensitivity rare in mainstream cinema, wry, melancholic and never voyeuristic. The Hollywood Reporter noted that Skarsgard literally dominates the screen, while Indiewire praised the film's balance of bittersweet comedy and heartfelt drama.

Pillion's strength lies in treating submission not as spectacle but as a language of intimacy, a way of articulating the need to be seen and accepted that reaches far beyond the physical. A supporting cast including Douglas Hodge and Lesley Sharp enriches a story that, while moving through territory often relegated to niche cinema, won over audiences and international critics alike with its emotional honesty, confirming itself as one of the season's most original queer discoveries.