France’s Memento Distribution Buys Harry Lighton’s Sexy Romance ‘Pillion’ Ahead of Cannes Premiere to Complete Big Festival Slate

by

Alexandre Mallet-Guy’s Memento Distribution recently acquired the rights to Harry Lighton’s steamy romance novel titled “Pillion.” This work will have its first global debut in the section Un Certain Regard.

Memento Distribution, based in Paris, showcasing three films in competition at Cannes, will distribute the A24 movie within France. In an interview with EbMaster, Mallet Guy commented, “This is a passionate romance between two men involving BDSM, and it’s quite exhilarating.

Alexander Skarsgard portrays the character of a biker, while Harry Melling, recognized from ‘Harry Potter,’ assumes the role of the submissive. This film is both humorous and unsettling due to its unique romantic comedy setting in an unusual, non-traditional environment. However, it succeeds remarkably well – it’s unusually moving, and witnessing these two prominent actors take such daring steps is truly captivating.

Memento Distribution’s lineup for competition at Cannes features Joachim Trier’s “Sentimental Value,” Jafar Panahi’s “A Simple Mishap,” Tarik Saleh’s “Eagles of the Nation,” and Laura Wandel’s “Adam’s Cause.” The latter film kicked off Critics Week.

(The goal is to make the sentence easier to read, yet retain the original meaning.)

Regarding Wandel’s film, “Adam’s Sake,” Mallet-Guy expressed quite a surprise upon reading the script, describing it as a captivating page-turner. He explained that the narrative plays out in almost real-time, spanning an hour and thirty minutes within a hospital setting, with approximately an hour and fifteen minutes being filmed. The audience is deeply engrossed throughout as they follow the journey of the head nurse and the mother of a hospitalized child, and their encounter is incredibly tense.

In contrast, Trier’s “Sentimental Value” is expected to resonate with fans of the Norwegian artist, according to Mallet-Guy. He describes it as deeply melancholic yet exquisitely beautiful, and fundamentally a tale about family. The movie traces a family’s journey through generations, using flashbacks, and revolving around a single house that changes according to its inhabitants. Each resident’s memories are associated with different rooms within the house.

The producer-distributor commented on Panahi’s movie, stating that it’s strongly tied to the present circumstances of Iranian society. They described it as a highly political piece that carries significant relevance for its era.

The collaboration between Mallet-Guy and Panahi can be traced back to the critically acclaimed film “Taxi Tehran.” This production was a significant success in France, selling approximately 600,000 cinema tickets, making it the second most successful Iranian film in France after “A Separation,” which sold over a million tickets. Following this, Memento Distribution handled “Three Faces” and the latest film, “A Simple Accident,” both of which were also screened at Cannes Film Festival. This collaboration continues with Les Films Pélleas, known for producing “Anatomy of a Fall,” in co-producing “A Simple Accident.” Additionally, Bidibul Productions and Pio &Co are also involved in the production. Previously, Mallet-Guy worked with Saleh on “Eagles of the Republic,” following their successful ventures together in “The Nile Hilton Incident” and “Boy From Heaven.” Mallet-Guy stated that “Eagles of the Republic,” which is set once again in Egypt, represents “unquestionably, Tark Saleh’s most ambitious film to date —not just financially, but also in its political engagement.

The movie starts off like a darkly humorous piece, but soon transforms into an intense political mystery with spy-like aspects. It’s a daring, exhilarating production.

The film is brought to you by Unlimited Stories, a significant Swedish production house, as well as Tarik’s personal Paraton and Memento.

Mallet-Guy stated that this is, in fact, the largest budget allocated for a film in the Arabic language we’ve ever had. It’s not simple to secure funding for Arabic films, but with the help of Canal + and Arte, we’ve successfully brought this project to life.

Over the past few years, Memento has been deepening its involvement in film production. Most recently, they unveiled their upcoming project, “Parallel Tales,” directed by two-time Academy Award winner Asghar Farhadi. This film will be shot in Paris and boasts an impressive ensemble cast, featuring Isabelle Huppert (“Elle”), Virginie Efira (“Benedetta”), Vincent Cassel (“Black Swan”), Pierre Niney (“The Count of Monte Cristo”), and Adam Bessa (“Ghost Trail”).

Mallet-Guy mentioned that traditionally, we’ve made between one and two movies per year. However, recently, we’ve been devoting additional attention to this area.

Memento Group is supporting numerous Asian filmmakers as well. Currently, they are engaged in the production of the next movie by Chinese director Diao Yinan, who won the Golden Bear for “Black Coal, Thin Ice” and followed it up with “The Wild Goose Lake,” which was screened at Cannes. They are also working on a new project with “Black Dog” director Guan Hu.

The upcoming French movies set for distribution by the company feature Marc Fitoussi’s latest work, which is being filmed in Paris and stars Isabelle Huppert as an extra and Sandrine Kiberlain as herself, portraying a renowned French actress. The production is overseen by Caroline Bonmarchand and represents a fresh collaboration between Fitoussi and Huppert since their previous project, “Copacabana.” Another title on the list is Martin Provost’s new film titled “Demain Je Tombe Amoureux,” starring Fabrice Luchini as the lead, alongside Carole Bouquet and Emmanuelle Devos.

Read More

2025-05-16 21:47