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Pillion Opens in UK Cinemas With a BDSM Biker Romance Grounded in Authenticity

Early festival buzz, alongside a BIFA craft win, helps propel the release.

Overview

  • Writer-director Harry Lighton adapts Adam Mars-Jones’s Box Hill into a contemporary Bromley-set feature starring Harry Melling and Alexander Skarsgård.
  • The production consulted bikers and BDSM practitioners, and cast GBMCC members alongside Jake Shears to deepen the film’s credibility.
  • Costume designer Grace Snell emphasizes leather and fetishwear, collaborating with Hideout Leather and earning a recent BIFA Craft award for her work.
  • The film depicts a consensual dom/sub dynamic with unflinching intimacy, informed by community guidance to avoid tropes and prudish framing.
  • Following its festival run and London premiere appearances, the film is playing in UK cinemas now, with a U.S. theatrical release scheduled for February 6, 2026.