ITV's Undercover Documentary
Director Ben Zand and Zandland studio offer a unique glimpse into the daily lives of people who risked everything to share their truth with the rest of the world.
Director Ben Zand and Zandland studio offer a unique glimpse into the daily lives of people who risked everything to share their truth with the rest of the world.
British television network ITV has commissioned the documentary Inside Iran: War & Revolution, which delivers a harrowing and intimate story from the heart of Iran, a country gripped by prolonged protests against the regime and recent conflict with the United States. The film is the work of British documentary studio Zandland and will premiere on ITV1 and streaming service ITVX on Sunday, August 9, 2026.
What makes this documentary particularly significant is the way it was filmed. Nearly all of the footage was captured inside Iran itself, shot by ordinary citizens who took enormous personal risks. The film makes this clear with on-screen text stating: "Nearly all of the footage in this film was shot inside Iran by citizens who took significant personal risks."
Due to the constant threat of punishment, even execution, the identities of some interviewees have been anonymized and their voices altered. The film is narrated from the perspective of an anonymous Iranian journalist and offers a rare look at the brutal crackdown on protests by authorities, including footage of mass gatherings and scenes from hospitals where injured protesters faced not only treatment but also arrests. The documentary also follows the course of events during the conflict with the U.S., showing how these events affected the population.
The film's director is Ben Zand, a British-Iranian filmmaker who runs Zandland studio with bases in London and Liverpool. This project holds a deeply personal dimension for him. "What this film captures is an impossible situation and the full spectrum of what it does to the people living through it. Our contributors describe grief, anger, hope, and heartbreak, often side by side, and rarely in ways outside observers would expect. As a British-Iranian, this is deeply personal to me, but the film belongs to the people inside Iran who risked everything to share their reality," Zand said.
Tom Giles, ITV's controller of current affairs who commissioned the film, also highlighted its importance. "This is a powerful and significant work by people who took great risks to film and witness events that have gripped the world's attention for years, and which they themselves experienced firsthand. These are recorded voices we rarely hear from Iran: urgent, passionate, full of fear and inspiration," Giles said.
This is not the first collaboration between ITV and Zandland on such a demanding project. Their previous joint film, Breaking Ranks: Inside Israel's Army, earned a nomination for the prestigious BAFTA award. The producer of the new documentary is Maya Rostowska, with executive producers Josh Reynolds and Ben Zand.
