EXCLUSIVE: United Talent Agency has inked British writer and director Harry Lighton in all areas.
Lighton’s debut feature, Pillion, premiered at Cannes to an eight-minute standing ovation in May and went on to win Best Screenplay in Un Certain Regard.
Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Harry Melling and Lesley Sharp, Pillion follows a directionless man who is swept off his feet when an enigmatic, impossibly handsome biker takes him on as his submissive. The feature is based on the 2020 novel Box Hill by Adam Mars-Jones, which Lighton adapted.
Said Deadline critic Glenn Gardner about the movie, “Lighton beautifully uses kink and BDSM as a playground to explore the longing and devotion that comes from unrequited love, as well as the balance of learning to love yourself and maintaining a sense of independence. With help from Skarsgård and Melling, the film navigates the chaotic push and pull of a relationship, as each sacrifices parts of themselves for the potential of love.”
Off of twenty-six reviews, Pillion currently stands at 100% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes with critics.
Picturehouse is releasing Pillion in the U.K. on Nov. 28, with A24 handling distribution stateside. A24 acquired U.S. on Pillion back in October 2024. Pillion is an Element Pictures production financed by BBC Film, BFI (awarding National Lottery funding), in association with Fremantle, Cornerstone handled worldwide sales and distribution.
The U.K.-based Lighton was previously nominated for both a BAFTA and a BIFA for his 2017 short Wren Boys. The filmmaker hails from Portsmouth, Hampshire. He started making short films during his time at the University of Oxford.
Lighton will continue to be represented in the U.K. by Matthew Bates at Sayle Screen.
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