Harry Lighton’s debut feature, “Pillion,” was one of the more talked-about discoveries at Cannes this year. The film, which adapts Adam Mars-Jones’ 1998 novel “Box Hill,” is a graphic and unapologetically kinky exploration of dom/sub dynamics, reframed as a tender gay romance.
Alexander Skarsgård stars as Ray, a leather-clad motorcycle dom who thrives on emotional withholding, while Harry Melling plays Colin, a shy traffic warden who finds himself caught in Ray’s orbit. What begins as a lopsided power dynamic slowly morphs into something deeper, with Colin pushing back against Ray’s control and finding his own strength.
“Pillion” earned the Best Screenplay prize in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section and has since played Telluride and now the New York Film Festival, where it screens October 4. A24 will release the film theatrically in early 2026.