Kinky Romance ‘Pillion’ Starring Alexander Skarsgard, Harry Melling Sells to Multiple Territories

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Following the sale of Pillion to A24 for the American market, Cornerstone has successfully secured several new distribution agreements for the film in various territories after it was selected at Cannes. (This version aims to make the text more accessible and easier to understand by simplifying certain phrases such as “closed a slew of new territorial deals” to “successfully secured several new distribution agreements”.)

The movie with a twist of romance, debuted at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival under the Un Certain Regard section, has been bought by Weltkino (Germany, Austria), iWonder (Italy), Praasens (Switzerland), MCF (the region previously known as Yugoslavia), Gutek (Poland), Lusomondo (Portugal), New Cinema (Israel) and Diamond for Latin America.

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The intriguing romantic film, premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival in the Un Certain Regard section, has been purchased by Weltkino (Germany, Austria), iWonder (Italy), Praasens (Switzerland), MCF (the former Yugoslavia territory), Gutek (Poland), Lusomondo (Portugal), New Cinema (Israel) and Diamond for Latin America.

Titled as a “humorous, dirty romance,” Pillion presents Skarsgard in the role of Ray, an “astonishingly attractive head of a motorcycle gang.” Ray recruits Colin (Melling), a timid wallflower, to become his new subordinate. Ray transplants Colin from his monotonous suburban existence and immerses him into a society of unconventional, kinky, and queer bikers. However, as Colin becomes more engrossed in Ray’s world, he starts to ponder if the lifestyle of a perpetual submissive truly suits him.

In his first attempt as a feature film director, Lighton was honored with the Un Certain Regard Award for the best screenplay at Cannes. Following the festival’s market, distribution rights for the film titled “Pillion” were acquired by Cornerstone and subsequently sold to Transformers (Japan), Challan (South Korea), and Swallow Wings (Taiwan). Additionally, A24 secured the deal for the U.S., while Picturehouse will distribute “Pillion” in the United Kingdom, and September Film will handle its release in Benelux countries.

Lighton, who was nominated for a BAFTA for the 2017 short film “Wren Boys”, directed the movie “Pillion” based on his own screenplay that draws loose inspiration from Adam Mars-Jones’ 2019 novel “Box Hill”.

Element Pictures, a company based in Fremantle, was responsible for creating the production titled “Pillion” with financial backing from BBC Film, the British Film Institute (BFI), along with support from Fremantle, Picturehouse, and September Film.

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2025-05-29 17:54