Pillion dominated the British Independent Film Awards on Sunday, winning four prizes including best independent film.
Harry Lighton’s first feature outing also earned accolades for best debut screenwriter, costume design, and make-up and hair design.
Pillion follows Colin, a reserved young gay man played by Harry Potter’s Harry Melling, as he becomes entangled in an unconventional relationship with the enigmatic biker Ray, played by Swedish actor Alexander Skarsgard.
“I think that all of the films that made me want to become a filmmaker were British indies,” Lighton said on the pink carpet.
Among a raft of other nominations, Melling and Skarsgard had also been shortlisted for best lead performance and best supporting role, respectively.
“I think it’s really incredible that a movie like Pillion can get made in 2025,” Skarsgard said before the award ceremony.
“I love it when I come across scripts that are unique. Often, the bigger the budget, the more people involved, the more executives involved, the more anxiety it is, the less risk-taking is often involved because everyone wants a return on their money.”
Ray Mendoza and Alex Garland’s Warfare, following a Navy Seals platoon, matched that tally, earning four honours in the previously announced craft and ensemble cast categories.
The night was helmed by comedians Lou Sanders and Harriet Kemsley, who hosted the awards ceremony at London’s Roundhouse.
The Ballad of Wallis Island – a comedy-drama about a faded folk duo who reluctantly reunite for a wealthy fan on a remote Welsh island – won two awards, with co-stars and writers Tim Key and Tom Basden taking home best screenplay and joint lead performance.
The film also won the previously announced original music prize.
Akinola Davies Jr won best director for his feature debut, My Father’s Shadow, a family drama co-written with his brother Wale Davies and set during the 1993 Nigerian election.
Elsewhere, Robert Aramayo earned the award for best lead performance for his role as Tourette’s campaigner in Kirk Jones in I Swear.
Posy Sterling won best breakthrough performance for her role as Molly in Lollipop, portraying a mother striving to regain custody of her children after being released from prison.
Other big names in attendance on the night included Carey Mulligan, Billy Crudup, Academy Award nominee Andrea Riseborough and Traitors star Celia Imrie.
Elsewhere, Emily Watson received the Richard Harris Award for her outstanding contribution to British film, presented to her by two-time co-star Paul Mescal.
Damian, Jared and Jamie Harris, in whose father’s memory the award is presented, said in a statement: “Emily is too young to be called a national treasure, but any performance of hers is a cultural event and she enhances the quality of everything in which she appears.
“She rightly takes her place alongside the past recipients of the Richard Harris Award.”
