Ep. 284 I How to Fund a Documentary Without the Industry

How do you fund a documentary when the whole industry says no?

How do you fund a documentary without film funds, grants, or a commissioning broadcaster, and still reach a huge audience? Dutch filmmaker Jonathan de Jong did exactly that with Human Forever, the most-watched human interest documentary in Dutch cinema history. The government pulled his funding two and a half years into production, and he still finished the film, built a movement, and put it in cinemas around the world.

In Episode 284 of Documentary First, Christian Taylor sits down with Jonathan de Jong, director of Human Forever and founder of SUPER7EVEN Productions, to talk about how independent filmmakers actually fund, build an audience for, get access for, and produce a documentary that people see.

Jonathan's whole approach starts from one idea: build the audience before the film exists. He grew a following through a bestselling book, The Housemates, a touring theater show, and his protagonist, the young nurse Teun Toebes, before the movie ever premiered. He funds outside the traditional market by partnering with mission-aligned organizations, he earns fly-on-the-wall access by investing years of unhurried time, and he made a hard subject impossible to look away from. In his words, “we made dementia sexy.”

In this episode, you'll learn:

• How to fund a documentary without relying on film funds, grants, or a broadcaster
• How to build an audience for your film before it is released
• How to get access to hospitals, care facilities, and other closed institutions
• How to produce a documentary across multiple countries
• Why Jonathan approaches every film as a product, not only a passion project
• How partnering with mission-aligned organizations can both fund and distribute your film
• The “be Switzerland” method for directing a subject to get honest, real reactions
• How to keep a film earning and touring years after its release
• Why treating a serious subject with warmth beats treating it as only serious
• What the record-breaking success of Human Forever teaches about impact over views

CHAPTERS

0:00 Breaking In Without Film School

5:06 Finding a Story Worth Telling

7:24 Build the Audience Before Release

12:21 When the Funding Fell Through

15:18 You Can't Buy Happiness

20:33 What Moldova Taught Him

26:47 Making the Camera Invisible

30:30 Directing a Neutral Protagonist

37:17 How Do You Get Access?

42:28 Where Does the Money Come From?

47:38 He Made Dementia Sexy

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you fund a documentary without grants or film funds?

Partner with mission-aligned organizations. Jonathan de Jong funds his films by teaming with social organizations, foundations, and local and national governments that care about the subject. Each contributes a smaller amount, and together they add up to a full budget. Because those partners also have large audiences, they become the film's first ambassadors, so the same partnership that funds the film also helps get it seen.

How do you get access to film inside hospitals or care facilities?

Invest time and build trust before the camera rolls. Jonathan spent years present without filming, and left the camera in the room so people grew used to it. Family members had to sign consent, and because his protagonist Teun Toebes was a trusted figure in dementia care, facilities welcomed the crew. Access came from relationships and patience, not from official fixers.

How do you build an audience for a documentary before it comes out?

Start years early and grow the audience alongside the film. Jonathan built a following through a bestselling book, a touring theater show, and social media, and he turned his protagonist into a recognized voice in the field. By the time Human Forever premiered, the audience and a network of ambassadors already existed, so the film became, in his words, the cherry on top.

How do you produce a documentary in multiple countries?

Work through the local community, not official fixers. Jonathan connects with people already working in the subject area, who bring in local governments and organizations to arrange permits and logistics. He keeps a small, lean crew that can move fast, and he builds a network of ambassadors in each country. That is how he filmed across eleven countries during a pandemic.

DocuView Déjà Vu

Jonathan's documentary pick is Searching for Sugar Man, which he calls one of the best documentaries ever made and a reminder of what the power of storytelling can do.

Sponsored by Virgil Films Entertainment

This episode is brought to you by Virgil Films Entertainment. With over 25 years of distribution experience, Virgil Films helps filmmakers get their work in front of audiences on every major platform. Learn more at https://www.virgilfilms.com/.

About the Guest

Jonathan de Jong is a Dutch documentary filmmaker and the founder of SUPER7EVEN Productions. He directs socially driven films that reach big audiences, and he is best known for Human Forever, the most-watched human interest documentary in Dutch cinema history. Website: https://supersevenproductions.com

SUPER7EVEN Productions is Jonathan de Jong's Netherlands-based company, making impact-driven documentaries on pressing social issues. Human Forever premiered around a 2023 G20 summit and is now used in more than 40 universities, including Yale and Oxford, with a US broadcast coming to PBS. Jonathan's next films explore strong communities and addiction.

About Human Forever and Teun Toebes

Human Forever follows Teun Toebes, a young care ethicist dubbed the “Greta Thunberg of healthcare,” who moved into the closed ward of a nursing home at 21 and traveled across four continents and eleven countries to ask how we can give people living with dementia a better quality of life. Teun's book, The Housemates, was a number one bestseller in Denmark and has been translated into English, German, Italian, and Arabic. Website: https://www.teuntoebes.com.

About Documentary First

Documentary First is a weekly podcast about the craft, business, and truth of documentary filmmaking, hosted by filmmaker Christian Taylor. Across nearly 300 episodes, the guest chair has held everyone from Ken Burns to first-time independents. Documentary First ranks in the top 5 percent of all podcasts worldwide on Listen Notes, is the number one documentary film podcast in the US on MillionPodcasts, and holds a 4.8 out of 5 on Apple Podcasts. Christian Taylor is a documentary filmmaker, actor, and voice actor, and the director of The Girl Who Wore Freedom.

Resources Mentioned

• Human Forever (film): https://www.teuntoebes.com/human-forever
• SUPER7EVEN Productions: https://supersevenproductions.com
• Teun Toebes: https://www.teuntoebes.com
• The Housemates, book by Teun Toebes https://septemberpublishing.org/product/the-housemates-pb/
• Searching for Sugar Man (documentary)
• Virgil Films Entertainment: https://virgilfilms.com

Connect With the Guests

• Jonathan de Jong: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/7onathandejong, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/jonathan-de-jong-07b670b
• Teun Toebes: Instagram https://www.instagram.com/teuntoebes, LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/teuntoebes

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