Benjamin Zand (born ) is a British documentary-maker, journalist and director.
He was previously a documentary executive at
BBC Studios
BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...
and a former head of the BBC documentary team,
BBC Pop Up.
He now runs his own production company, ZANDLAND Films.
Early life
Zand was born on 2 February 1991 in
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, to an
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
family; his father is from
Tehran
Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...
.
He attended Bowring Comprehensive School in
Huyton
Huyton ( ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Knowsley, Merseyside, England. Part of the Liverpool Urban Area, it borders the Liverpool suburbs of Dovecot, Knotty Ash and Belle Vale, and the neighbouring village of Roby, with which ...
,
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
.
Career
Zand studied journalism in university. During his time there, he started a travel website and began
video production
Video production is the process of producing video content for video. It is the equivalent of filmmaking, but with video recorded either as analog signals on videotape, digitally in video tape or as computer files stored on optical discs, hard dri ...
. His first documentary was called ''Tehrangeles'', featuring Iranians living in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
.
After finishing his studies, he worked with production companies and eventually became a producer at the
BBC World Service working on numerous radio programmes, including BBC ''
World Have Your Say
''World Have Your Say'' (''WHYS'') is an international BBC global discussion show, that was broadcast on BBC World Service every weekday at 1600 hours Coordinated Universal Time, UTC and on BBC World News every Friday at 1500 hours UTC.
World ...
''. After about a year, he moved on to
BBC World News
BBC World News is an international English-language pay television network, operated under the ''BBC Global News Limited'' division of the BBC, which is a public corporation of the UK government's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and ...
, as a producer and
social media
Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...
manager of BBC
Facebook
Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin Mosk ...
pages.
Zand then became a
video journalist and reporter for BBC News, also becoming part of the BBC's video innovation lab. During this time, he covered stories from
far-right ultranationalism
Ultranationalism or extreme nationalism is an Extremism, extreme form of nationalism in which a country asserts or maintains detrimental hegemony, Supremacism, supremacy, or other forms of control over other nations (usually through violent coerc ...
to
Native Americans in
South Dakota
South Dakota (; Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state in the North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux Native American tribes, who comprise a large porti ...
. He also launched BBC Trending and BBC ''
Newsbeat
''Newsbeat'' is the BBC's radio news programme broadcast on Radio 1, 1Xtra and Asian Network. ''Newsbeat'' is produced by BBC News but differs from the BBC's other news programmes in its remit to provide news tailored for a specifically yo ...
''s video offering, and worked for the BBC's ''
The Travel Show
''The Travel Show'' is an EP by British rapper Braintax, was released through Low Life Records in 1999. The EP was never released on CD; however, it can be purchased on the Internet as a digital download in MP3 format.
Track listing
Digit ...
''. Towards the end of 2014, he started the BBC's "mobile
bureau
Bureau ( ) may refer to:
Agencies and organizations
* Government agency
*Public administration
* News bureau, an office for gathering or distributing news, generally for a given geographical location
* Bureau (European Parliament), the administra ...
" called
BBC Pop Up with a BBC colleague. Here, he travelled across the U.S.
crowdsourcing story ideas and making documentaries for BBC World News and
BBC News
BBC News is an operational business division of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) responsible for the gathering and broadcasting of news and current affairs in the UK and around the world. The department is the world's largest broad ...
.
Benjamin then went on to become Editor of BBC Pop Up.
Managing a team that flew around the world and made digital-first documentaries for an international audience. The documentaries now have millions of views online.
After working for different departments across the BBC making documentaries, including
BBC Two,
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
and ''
Panorama,'' Ben then signed an exclusive contract to make his documentaries through the
BBC Studios
BBC Studios is a British content company. It is a commercial subsidiary of the BBC that was formed in April 2018 through the merger of the BBC's commercial production arm and the BBC's commercial international distribution arm, BBC Worldwide. ...
Documentary Unit. He became a Senior Development Executive on his own films as well as the director and author.
In 2017, Ben set up his own production company, ZANDLAND Films. ZANDLAND Films now makes documentaries with media organisations around the world.
Ben also makes podcasts, including The Next Episode which is a youth-orientated
podcast
A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...
on
BBC Sounds.
Additionally while working as a journalist for BBC, Zand met VICE News journalist
Isobel Yeung
Isobel Yeung (born ) is a British long-form documentary senior correspondent. She has covered a variety of stories concerning major global issues such as ongoing world conflicts, terrorism, mass detention, and genocide. She has also reported ...
. The two announced their dating relationship via their Instagram accounts in 2018.
Documentaries
A list featuring some of Benjamin Zand's documentaries.
''The Cult of Conspiracy: QAnon''
Director Ben Zand sets out on an examination of the wildest conspiracy of our times. From the biggest names in QAnon to the front-line digital soldiers, what leads people down such a different path?
''The Mysterious Murder of Nipsey Hussle''
Director Ben Zand sets out to unravel the mystery of Nipsey Hussle's murder. Who wanted him dead? Was it the police? The government? Or an old gang dispute?
''Extinction Rebellion: Last Chance to Save the World''
A huge new global protest movement is changing public attitudes to climate change. Ben Zand gains access to the most high-profile activist group,
Extinction Rebellion
Extinction Rebellion (abbreviated as XR) is a global environmental movement, with the stated aim of using nonviolent civil disobedience to compel government action to avoid tipping points in the climate system, biodiversity loss, and the risk o ...
.
''Confessions of a Serial Killer''
The documentary by filmmaker Ben Zand, created by ZANDLAND Films, travelled from California to Mississippi in order to investigate the story of
Samuel Little. Serial killer Samuel Little claims to have murdered more than 90 women across the United States over a four-decade period, and, although the number of victims rose and rose during his rampage, the crimes were seemingly ignored. The documentary aired on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
in the UK in May 2019. The Times gave it a 4 star rating, stating: "Zand has a fresh, informal presenting style, which allows him to ask hard questions in a low-key way that gets answers."
''Is This Sexual Harassment?''
Social experiment by journalist and presenter Ben Zand in which a group of people come together to try to understand what constitutes sexual harassment.
''World's Most Dangerous Cities with Ben Zand''
Zand visited "the most dangerous cities on earth, coming face to face with killers and terror". In this series he visited
Caracas in
Venezuela
Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
,
Kabul
Kabul (; ps, , ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province; it is administratively divided into 22 municipal districts. Acco ...
in
Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and
Port Moresby
(; Tok Pisin: ''Pot Mosbi''), also referred to as Pom City or simply Moresby, is the capital and largest city of Papua New Guinea. It is one of the largest cities in the southwestern Pacific (along with Jayapura) outside of Australia and New ...
in
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea (abbreviated PNG; , ; tpi, Papua Niugini; ho, Papua Niu Gini), officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea ( tpi, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niugini; ho, Independen Stet bilong Papua Niu Gini), is a country i ...
.
''R Kelly: Sex, Girls & Videotapes''
Zand explored allegations surrounding the sex life of R&B legend
R Kelly
Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses.
During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...
, including accusations of
holding women against their will in his home in
Atlanta
Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...
and running a degrading
sex cult
Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the c ...
— allegations he denies.
''R Kelly: The Sex Scandal Continues''
In this follow-up film, Zand "gets to the heart of the latest allegations". Ben followed the story of the Savage family, and their daughter's involvement with R Kelly.
''Trump: A Very British Welcome?''
As controversial
US President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021.
Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...
visited the UK, Zand followed both sides of the Trump protests.
''Ben Zand: Cults, Gangs and God''
On 18 January 2018, a three-part miniseries was released, in which he visited
Guatemala,
El Salvador and
Costa Rica.
''Ben Zand in Dictatorland''
In this series Zand travelled to three countries,
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
,
Tajikistan
Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Tadzhikistan), officially the Republic of Tajikistan ( tg, Ҷумҳурии Тоҷикистон, Jumhurii Tojikiston), is a landlocked country in Centr ...
and
Belarus
Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by ...
, to see what life is like living under a
dictator
A dictator is a political leader who possesses absolute power. A dictatorship is a state ruled by one dictator or by a small clique. The word originated as the title of a Roman dictator elected by the Roman Senate to rule the republic in tim ...
. He met
dissident
A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 20th ...
s being tracked by the state, and those close to the rulers themselves. It was broadcast on
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
and
BBC iPlayer.
''Africa's Million Pound Migrant Trail''
This documentary broadcast on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
's ''
Panorama'' programme looked at life along the migrant trail that runs through
sub-Saharan Africa via
Libya
Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...
to Europe. Zand visited
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
,
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languages[European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...](_blank)
was doing to address the
European migrant crisis
The 2015 European migrant crisis, also known internationally as the Syrian refugee crisis, was a period of significantly increased movement of refugees and migrants into Europe in 2015, when 1.3 million people came to the continent to reques ...
, and to see how much money is being made.
''Lebanon Stories''
As part of
BBC Pop Up, Zand travelled to
Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to Lebanon–Syria border, the north and east and Israel to Blue ...
for a month to make four documentaries, ranging from
drug lords,
refugees,
Islamic extremism and
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, ...
.
''The Man Who Squeezes Muscles: Searching for Purple Aki''
In this documentary. Zand goes in search of
Akinwale Arobieke for
BBC Three
BBC Three is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It was first launched on 9 February 2003 with programmes targeting 16 to 34-year-olds, covering all genres including animation, comedy, cur ...
, and tries to understand a story that has been gripping
Merseyside
Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wi ...
for decades.
''The Fish Bombers''
For
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
's ''
Unreported World'', Zand visited
Malaysian Borneo
East Malaysia (), or the Borneo States, also known as Malaysian Borneo, is the part of Malaysia on and near the island of Borneo, the world's third-largest island. Near the coast of Sabah is a small archipelago called Labuan. East Malaysia li ...
, where
coral reef
A coral reef is an underwater ecosystem characterized by reef-building corals. Reefs are formed of colonies of coral polyps held together by calcium carbonate. Most coral reefs are built from stony corals, whose polyps cluster in groups.
C ...
s face environmental disaster as local fishermen resort to drastic, destructive fishing methods to survive, including using
explosives and
sodium cyanide
Sodium cyanide is a poisonous compound with the formula Na C N. It is a white, water-soluble solid. Cyanide has a high affinity for metals, which leads to the high toxicity of this salt. Its main application, in gold mining, also exploits its hi ...
.
''Our World, Afrikaners on the Edge''
After
campus protests, some of
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...
's most prestigious universities agreed to stop teaching in
Afrikaans
Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
; Zand travelled to South Africa to meet
Afrikaners
Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Cas ...
who fear for their future in the '
Rainbow Nation
Rainbow Nation is a term coined by Archbishop Desmond Tutu to describe post-apartheid South Africa after South Africa's first fully democratic election in 1994.
The phrase was elaborated upon by President Nelson Mandela in his first month of ...
'.
''The Other Side of...''
Zand travelled to
Pakistan
Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...
and
Sudan to take a look at the countries away from the news headlines.
''The Secret World of Incels: UNTOLD''
Zand spent a year documenting the lives of
Incels
An incel ( , an abbreviation of "involuntary celibate") is a member of an online subculture of people who define themselves as unable to get a romantic or sexual partner despite desiring one. Discussions in incel forums are often characte ...
living in the UK and western Europe. The programme first aired on the 7th November 2022 as part of Channel 4's UNTOLD documentary series.
Awards
Zand was named Young Talent of the Year at the 2016
Royal Television Society Journalism Awards. "The judges liked everything about Benjamin, the stories he'd found, the way he filmed them – normally on his own – and the way he told them. They found him original, fresh, provocative, versatile, and, of course, creative."
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Zand, Benjamin
1991 births
Living people
BBC newsreaders and journalists
Television presenters from Liverpool
English people of Iranian descent