The Next Wave of Documentaries with Ben Zand and Donata von Perfall

29 Sep, 2025
The Next Wave of Documentaries with Ben Zand and Donata von Perfall

In this week’s TellyCast, Justin Crosby is joined by filmmaker Ben Zand and Documentary Campus CEO Donata von Perfall. Ben discusses the launch of Human, his bold new self-funded YouTube documentary strand that puts storytelling and brand-building ahead of TV commissioning. He explains why he’s betting on a digital-first strategy, how Zandland is creating content with empathy and access, and the business model behind the series.

Donata von Perfall outlines the evolution of Documentary Campus, its renowned Master School training programme, and the launch of NEXTWAVE – a new digital-first documentary summit taking place in Halle, Germany this autumn. She shares how Documentary Campus is helping filmmakers adapt to the fast-changing factual landscape and why now is the moment to champion digital-first storytelling in Europe.

HUMAN launches Thursday 2nd October on ZANDLAND’s YouTube channel

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Transcripts for this episode will be available soon.

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