Don't hate the media, become the media. Jello Biafra
Ben Bovington-Key
The Easy Way Out
FILM INTERVIEW | 2026
THE EASY WAY OUT
Writer/Director: Ben Bovington-Key
Images © Shorthand Films
OCT, 21, 2026
Ted returns to his hometown to find his big brother Jim at the end of his rope. But is it too late to save him?
Hey Ben, so great to get this opportunity to talk with you again. Last time we spoke was for The Nun Slayer. It went on to win Best English Short Film at The British Short Film Awards. Did you imagine you would get the reaction you got for this short?
Really great to chat to you again. We certainly had a whirlwind festival run with ‘The Nun Slayer’ for which I’m so grateful. Winning at The British Short Film Awards was the last stop and therefore very much the cherry on top. I think I said as much while collecting the award, but I didn’t expect a film about a nun murderer to strike such a chord with so many people, but in truth I think that’s down to the heart that Matthew Cottle and Ellie Nun infused into those roles and of course all the creatives behind camera, lots of whom joined us for ‘The Easy Way Out’ which was a joy.
Your new short, The Easy Way Out, is about to start its festival run, any nerves?
Honestly, I’m itching to get out there and show the film to audiences, but as with any screening it comes with its fair share of nerves, particularly due to how personal this film is. We held a private screening for crew, family and friends a little while back which might have been the most nervous I have ever been to screen a film, as so many people there shared a connection to the story. However, those nerves were eased pretty quickly by how warmly the film was received, so I think the biggest challenge is over for me personally.
We’re lucky enough to be screening at Aesthetica this year which is a first for me in terms of films I’ve directed and has always been a goal of mine, so I can’t wait to attend and meet the other filmmakers there.
With The Easy Way Out being such a personal film has it been hard letting it go?
There’s been many stages to this process in terms of letting go of the story. Firstly, when I wrote the first draft it was very much just a therapeutic rambling on a notepad which quite easily could never have made it onto my laptop. Then, after finishing the script, getting the courage to even tell people about it, let alone show anyone. That anxiety increased tenfold when I ended up pitching the film for the Slick Film Fund in front of a packed crowd of filmmakers at Bolton Film Festival. Then eventually recreating and reenacting the whole thing on set for a cast and crew, discussing intention, stunt rigging and everything in between.
The whole process has essentially been an extreme form of exposure therapy funded by the BFI, who have themselves been incredibly supportive and understanding throughout, particular shoutout to our exec Sammy Wong. But I think the important thing was that I needed to separate the story I was making from the truth that it had started from. Making sure the characters were distinct from myself and the people in my life, while preserving what made the story an important one for me to tell. Whether I was successful in that I can’t really be the judge, but the process has certainly helped me.
What does cinema mean to you?
Cinema to me is the purest way we can tell stories. I think all forms of art are storytelling at their core, but film has always been the one that has resonated with me the most as a way to express myself. I wish it hadn’t been because it takes ages and it’s bloody expensive.
Unfortunately I can’t sing or paint so here I am.
What’s your first day like on set, any big, inspiring speeches?
Like any big Hollywood production the first day on set involved gathering some friends and strangers in my mum’s kitchen. We were shooting flashback sequences and it felt only natural to do this in my hometown where the events were based, so once again my parents made the ultimate sacrifice of letting a film crew into their house.
The first day is all about finding your groove as a crew which can always be a bit chaotic. We had more location moves than I care to remember that day so no inspiring speeches, but everyone brought their A game from the very first moment and before we knew it we were sprinting down the streets I grew up on, shooting out the side of a van. The next couple of days are where everything feels like it falls into place and soon enough you’re a well oiled machine. But the cruel irony of short films is that just as everything is running smoothly it’s a wrap and you all go your separate ways.
I will say that it felt like the gravity of the story we were telling was not lost on anyone there, and many people said as much. I was very grateful for how sensitively the cast and crew treated the subject matter and it felt like everyone was giving their all to support me and the story itself. You can’t really ask for more than that.
Can you tell me a little bit about how The Easy Way Out came about? What inspired your Screenplay?
On Christmas day in 2021 my oldest brother made an attempt on his own life. He was living in Bristol at the time and so we had to rush out there from Kent very late at night when we got the news, but by then it was too late to speak with him and he passed a few days afterwards. He and I had always had a fun, loving and positive relationship, but I wouldn’t call it a very close one. We would normally share kind words sporadically along with vague promises to see each other soon.
I found my mind immediately flooded with things I had wanted to say to him that I now wouldn’t get the chance to. Like how much I had looked up to him and how desperately I wanted to be more like him in so many ways. The inability to say these things to him ended up being something I held against him and it stirred up a lot of anger, guilt and regret in me for a long time.
That inner monologue of the conversation I wanted to have with him never really faded, until one day I decided to scribble it out on a piece of paper with his imagined retorts and sure enough a dialogue had formed between us, all it took was to set it in a theoretical place and suddenly it was a script. In time, the characters took on a life and relationship of their own that was distinct from that of my brother and I, but there is still certainly a lot of him in Jim.
You have really impressive cast, led by Sam Swainsbury, and Charlie Hiscock. Had you had in mind who you wanted to play Jim and Ted during the writing process?
The truth is that the way I had pictured Jim and Ted during the writing process was very different from the characters you eventually see on screen, quite possibly because of how close I was to the subject matter.
The casting for the film was a long process, working closely with our casting director Shannon Dowling-Laydon, who was fantastic and really helped me gain more of an understanding of the characters as we explored the possibilities. When we found Sam Swainsbury and Charlie Hiscock it was really a eureka moment and now I couldn’t picture anyone else in those roles.
I was a huge fan of Stefan Golaszewski’s ‘Mum’ so I was already familiar with the humour and heart that Sam had brought to the role of Jason in that show, which was essential for Jim’s character, albeit in a very different way. I’d also just been watching Charlie on ‘Ted Lasso’ and ‘Black Mirror’ where a sensitivity shone through the comedy in both of his performances which really grabbed my attention.
Not only did they feel authentically like brothers but they each brought a depth to their characters beyond what I could put on the page and were so committed to doing the script justice. It was a really touching experience for me.
When writing a screenplay like The Easy Way Out do you draw inspiration from you own experiences and people you’ve met?
I think it’s hard not to really. In this script it’s evident that the character of Jim is based on my brother, but I think when you’re writing any character you can only really pull on your own experiences of the people you know, even if you’re not basing a character on a specific person.
I’ve always been fascinated by local characters that you might see in your day to day who you may never properly meet, but they become a part of your life. They might be known locally by some strange nickname or just someone you cross paths with a lot on the commute. A feature film script I’m working on at the moment with co-writer Bill Sutton plays with this idea as a central premise. What if a character were to go on an odyssey-like journey through Britain and the “mythical” beings and characters he meets along the way are those local characters we see in towns and cities everyday.
How important is the creative collaboration between you and your cinematographer Wouter Verheul, and your editor Carmela Schönenberger?
They’ve been incredibly important. Having worked with Wouter already on ‘The Nun Slayer’ I felt like we had developed a really natural process for working together which often didn’t require a huge amount of verbal communication. In fact, for the most part we just shake hands when we are happy with a shot and move on. Wouter was part of developing the script from very early on and really helped me transition from the subject of the story to the director through that development. Wouter is very much a story first DOP which I think is essential. When we got to set I had a lot to deal with creatively and emotionally, so to have someone I trusted behind the camera was essential and I couldn’t be happier with what he shot.
This was my first time collaborating with Carmela. When we spoke before she came on board she seemed to have a very empathetic understanding of the story but also of the humour within it which would be crucial in the edit. Normally when an editor sends you a rough cut of your film you feel like crying or even a bit sick, this is no fault of theirs, it’s just always a bit of a shock when the intention becomes the reality. I can honestly say that this is the first time I’ve been delivered a rough cut and watched it with a smile on my face throughout. Carmela seemed to understand what I was looking for before we’d really had a chance to discuss it and that was a recurring theme throughout the process.
The same goes for all the other collaborations with Designer Eve Oakley, HMUA Annabel Smith, Sound Designer Sam Mason and producer Harry Green just to name a few. Everyone brought so much more to the project than what was on the page to begin with.
Looking back is there anything you would have done differently on The Easy Way Out?
Whenever you make a film there will always be moments when you’re watching it with an audience and you see small details that you wish you had done differently. But honestly the experience of making this film has meant so much to me that I wouldn’t change a thing about it. At the end of the day I feel like we pulled together the film that we set out to make and I’m proud of that.
Where did your passion for film come from?
My love of film comes from my parents, there's no doubt about that. It was my Mum that introduced me to films like Hal Ashby’s ‘Harold and Maude’ and Mike Leigh’s ‘Life is Sweet’ and my Dad who introduced me to the works of the Coen Brothers and watching grisly gangster films when I was far too young. It’s a combination of all these influences that has formed my sensibilities as a filmmaker ever since. If you look closely you can spot my Dad in ‘The Easy Way Out’ too.
How much did those early films with Georgios Hartofilakidis help influence your approach to writing and directing?
I actually just got back from visiting Georgios in Athens where he lives now. It was so nice to catch up with him after some time. Georgios and I co-directed a few films while we were studying at university. At the time I’m not sure I would have had the confidence to direct something myself if I hadn’t had the chance to co-direct with him. We both found quite quickly that we had similar sensibilities for comic, surreal stories. Our first film together was about a consensual cannibalistic arrangement that goes awry when the cannibal falls in love with the woman he is eating, it was called ‘Boy Eats Girl’. Co-directing can be difficult to navigate but at the time I felt like we were very much in sync. Eventually we found we wanted to explore slightly different types of stories, but I love Georgios’ films. Everyone should check out ‘Thursday Night Sorbet.’
Is there a film you’ve seen that’s had an impact on you? For me, it’s Trevor, a short film from the 1990s…
I haven’t seen Trevor but I’ll have to check it out! In preparation for this film I found myself revisiting some of the films that had inspired me very early on. In particular I kept coming back to ‘Harold and Maude’ which is a firm favourite of mine and informed a lot of the more morbid humour in our film. In terms of tonal references though, I kept coming back to more social realist works from filmmakers like Mike Leigh and Shane Meadows. The film ‘A Room For Romeo Brass’ had a real impact on me when I first watched it. It shifts in tone from a fairly uplifting coming-of-age tale to something a lot more sinister, but it does so in such a natural and fluid way that you barely notice it happening until the climax hits you like a train.
I knew that we had a tight rope walk on our hands when it came to balancing the sensitive subject matter and the comedy and filmmakers like Leigh and Meadows are the masters of this to my mind.
"As an exercise it really helped to differentiate between the intentions of what I wrote on the page as a writer and what the best way to translate that to screen would be as a director."
What have been the most valuable things you’ve discovered about yourself as a filmmaker since your debut film?
You learn and grow with every film you make. The most important lesson I’ve learnt is to find collaborators who have an inherent understanding of the story you’re trying to tell so you can trust that they will enhance and develop the story even further.
This is the first film I’ve made that’s being screened in drama categories. Straying more into drama as a genre has been a revealing experience, however I don’t think this film or the films I want to make will ever neatly fall into one camp or the other when it comes to comedy and drama. For me you need both and ideally the line should blur between them until you can’t tell if you’re laughing or crying. That’s the goal anyway.
What has been the best piece of advice you’ve been given by a fellow filmmaker, and paying it forward is there any advice you would offer anyone making their own short film?
Some of the best advice I’ve been given was actually from Wouter Verheul while working with him on ‘The Nun Slayer’ and it was about working as a writer/director. When we would discuss the shots we wanted and dissected the script he urged me to start thinking of the writer as a separate person whose words we would analyse together. As an exercise it really helped to differentiate between the intentions of what I wrote on the page as a writer and what the best way to translate that to screen would be as a director. I’d suggest anyone who is directing something they have written to give it a go.
My advice to anyone making their own short film is to wait until you land on an idea you’re ready to be married to for a considerable amount of time. It can take nearly as long to make a short film as it does to make a feature so you better love the idea or it will become a burden. And never rush the casting process, because it is just that, a process, and you’ll discover more about your script and characters during it if you are patient and learn from the actors as they interpret your script.
And finally, is there a message you would like your audience to take away from The Easy Way Out?
I think really it all comes down to talking to each other. If you’re feeling lost or that you can’t cope then it’s always better to let someone know so they can help you. Running away from it or keeping it inside helps no one. And if you don’t have those relationships in your life then there are resources and organisations for anyone in need through organisations like CALM and Andy’s Man Club. The main obstacle is removing the stigma of asking for help. Hopefully the film can also show those who have been bereaved by suicide that it is normal to feel angry and guilty and everything in between. But know that it gets better in time.