Ben's first foray into movie-making came in 1995, when at just 16 he produced and starred in his very first feature, the coming-of-age drama 'Backstreet'. Two years later he produced and starred in the low-budget gangster thriller 'Tragic Irony'. Made on 16mm for just £6,000 and a cross between 'Pulp Fiction' and 'Shallow Grave', it took a sideswipe at the seedier side of Nineties Britain. After making his directorial debut with the pilot for docudrama series 'How To Get Away With Murder', Ben stepped back from the film industry to read Politics at Swansea University, getting to the final year of a PhD on the European Union and even running for the UK Parliament before returning to his first love, film. In 2009 he produced the 35mm short 'Beached' in conjunction with The London Film School. The short screened at the Strasbourg International Film Festival as well as the Short Film Corner at Cannes. After spending many a weekend at London's Raindance film training courses, he finally took the plunge and directed his first feature, crime thriller 'Two Days in the Smoke'. A re-imaging of his earlier film 'Tragic Irony', the reboot starred Matt di Angelo ('Borgia'), Lili Bordán ('Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome') and Alan Ford ('Snatch'). The London- and Paris-set feature was released in the UK in October 2014 as 'The Smoke' and internationally throughout 2015 as 'London Payback'. After co-producing Isle of Man heist caper 'Ratted Out' and associate producing psychological thriller 'The Stranger', he returned to the director's chair for the Cornwall-set portmanteau 'Welcome to Curiosity' starring Amrita Acharia ('Game of Thrones'), Richard Blackwood ('Anuvahood') and Stephen Marcus ('Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'). The film is due for release in 2017.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- June 23, 1979 (47)
- Beckenham, London, England, United Kingdom
- Producer and director
- 9 on MovieCove · 13 credits in all
What are Ben Pickering's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Self.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 9
Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 4
Grounded 6 · Stylized 3 · Heightened 0
Gentle 1 · Charged 5 · Intense 3
A split, not a type: Steady 3 · Shifting 6 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 6 · Some laughs 3 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 7 · Relentless 0
A split, not a type: Casual 4 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 2 · Affecting 6 · Heavy 1
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 3 · Ambiguous 1
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous4
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ben Pickering's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 9 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for Ben Pickering's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
13 credits, 9 with a MovieCove page.
Red Riding(2026)
Midcredits score: 10th percentile of all films
The Nice Ones(2026)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Bogieville(2024)
Midcredits score: 28th percentile of all films
Drained(2024)
Midcredits score: 36th percentile of all films
Jolly Good Christmas(2022)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
The Presence of Love(2022)
Midcredits score: 79th percentile of all films
Safeguard(2020)
Midcredits score: 25th percentile of all films
Infracktion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Welcome to Curiosity(2018)
Midcredits score: 35th percentile of all filmsLongtails (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
The Smoke(2014)
Midcredits score: 11th percentile of all films
Beached (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2009)
Floverr (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 11 titles, 10 of them dated from 2009 to 2026.
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Ben Pickering's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 30th percentile, the median of all 9; across their 9 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 17th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th5
- Below 25th2
Shape of the crowd
3 of their 9 titles are Cult Classics.
- Universally Panned1
- Divisive1
- Cult Classic3
- Crowd Pleaser2
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the atmosphere 61/100 and the pacing 44/100 in their films, across 9 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does Ben Pickering work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ben Pickering's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Sean Cronin shares the most, 4.
Directors
- Sean CroninShared titles: Bogieville (2024), Drained (2024), Safeguard (2020), Welcome to Curiosity (2018)See all 4 shared titles with Sean Cronin
- Peter StylianouShared titles: Red Riding (2026), The Nice Ones (2026), Drained (2024)See all 3 shared titles with Peter Stylianou
Writers
- Darren RipleyShared titles: Welcome to Curiosity (2018), The Smoke (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Darren Ripley
Actors
- Andrew Lyle-PinnockShared titles: The Nice Ones (2026), Drained (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Lyle-Pinnock
- Ayvianna SnowShared titles: The Nice Ones (2026), Drained (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Ayvianna Snow
- Ian WhyteShared titles: Red Riding (2026), The Nice Ones (2026)See all 2 shared titles with Ian Whyte
- Andrew Lee PottsShared titles: Bogieville (2024), Drained (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Andrew Lee Potts
Cinematographers and editors
- Daniel Patrick VaughanShared titles: Red Riding (2026), Bogieville (2024), Drained (2024)See all 3 shared titles with Daniel Patrick Vaughan
- Paul WhiteheadShared titles: Jolly Good Christmas (2022), The Presence of Love (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Paul Whitehead
Producers
- Tony CurrierShared titles: The Nice Ones (2026), Drained (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Tony Currier
- Agnes BristowShared titles: Jolly Good Christmas (2022), The Presence of Love (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Agnes Bristow
- Borga DorterShared titles: Jolly Good Christmas (2022), The Presence of Love (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Borga Dorter
- Leif BristowShared titles: Jolly Good Christmas (2022), The Presence of Love (2022)See all 2 shared titles with Leif Bristow
Mixed roles
- Craig ConwayShared titles: Red Riding (2026), Drained (2024)See all 2 shared titles with Craig Conway
- Luke CorradineShared titles: Welcome to Curiosity (2018), The Smoke (2014)See all 2 shared titles with Luke Corradine
