Dhaka, Bangladesh
2 reviews$250 - $600 / Day
I am Elizabeth D' Costa, an emerging Bangladeshi born and raised and one of the most exciting young female documentary filmmaker with over 10 years of experience. My first feature documentary “Bangla Surf Girls” got Official selection in the acclaimed HotDocs Film Festival 2020. I am also the fellow of Film Independent’s Documentary Lab 2020 which was sponsored by Global Media Makers and US State Department of Education and Cultural exchange. My film was also selected for the Chicken and Egg 2017 Accelerator Lab among 10 women filmmakers worldwide and successfully pitched in the Deal Makers forum at Hot Docs 2017. I was also selected to attend the IDFA academy in 2017, to hone my craft among 100 filmmakers worldwide. I began my career as a script supervisor with the acclaimed Bangladeshi filmmakers Tareque and Catherine Masud, before earning my MA in Film Studies from the University of Dhaka. I produced/directed television shows and worked in several short films for a range of media outlets including BBC Media Action, Dutch TV NOS, PBSNews- hour, Vice News UK, La Sexta Spanish TV and Bloomberg TV. Also worked as an Assistant Producer on two times Academy Award winner, Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy’s documentary “A Journey of Thousand Miles”. From 2016 to 2017, I worked as a communications advisor for UNDP Bangladesh and in this capacity produced a number of media advocacy stories about women empowerment. Directed short documentaries on topics like - women’s access to justice, women and natural disasters. Was translator for Norwegian photojournalist Annemor Larsen on Child marriage.
April • 2018
It was a pleasure to work with Elizabeth! She was always willing and able to hop on the phone to discuss the shot list and production plans. She followed the shotlist and video brief to a T and her work is truly stunning. I'd definitely work with her again!
Surviving the Storm: Women and Natural Disasters tells the story of four women who lived through Cyclone Sidr, the worst cyclone to hit Bangladesh in over a decade. Through their dramatic accounts, the film explores the special challenges facing poor, rural women when natural disasters hit, and asks what more can be done to ensure their survival.
Produced for Global Citizen
Produced for Bloomberg Television
Bill Gates thinks this Bangladeshi upstart could revolutionize banking for the poor.
Bangla Surf Girls is an immersive documentary that takes us into the heart of a slum near Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh where we witness a local social experiment. Young girls who sell trinkets to tourists are pulled into a surf program started by local youth. What follows is a transformation as the girls gain confidence and dare to dream of freedom and escape from a life of drudgery and abuse. Balancing the freedom of the waves with the restrictive realities of their circumstances, we experience the thrill and struggle of coming-of-age in a developing country. The documentary captures the raw emotions, family dynamics, and the complex pressures of poverty. This is my first-feature length independent documentary that I Produced/Direct/Camera with my Canadian producer.
Nyenrode Business University and the Netherlands Embassy in Dhaka invite 11 Dutch companies to Bangladesh to explore partnerships in the IT and logistics industries. While in Bangladesh, the companies had an opportunity to meet with trade bodies, government, and potential business partners. Overall, the aim of the trade mission was to encourage partnerships between the two countries.
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