Elizabeth D. Costa

Elizabeth D. Costa is a Bangladeshi documentary filmmaker, director, producer, and screenwriter. She is known for her first feature documentary, Bangla Surf Girls, which premiered at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival and participated in the 2017 Chicken & Egg Accelerator Lab, as well as the 2017 IDFA Academy. She co-directed the short documentary 35th July – Bangladesh's Deadly Protest (2024), Bangladesh Truth Seekers (2026) for Al Jazeera.

Early life and education Costa is Bangladeshi-born and raised and comes from a Christian minority background. She earned a degrees from Media Studies & Journalism from the University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh. She was a participent for the 2020 Film Independent Documentary Lab with support from Global Media Makers and the U.S. Department of State.

Career Costa began her career as an intern script supervisor for Bangladeshi filmmakers Tareque and Catherine Masud, working on films including The Clay Bird (2002). The film had its world premiere at the Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival in 2021.

Costa has also conducted workshops for women filmmakers. In 2025, she co-led a four-day non-fiction storytelling workshop for Bangladeshi women filmmakers organised by Dhaka DocLab.

Filmography

Documentary films

Bangla Surf Girls (2021) – director, producer, cinematographer

Producer

Bangla Surf Girls (2021) – producer Bangla Surf Girls – newportFILM (2021) Bangla Surf Girls – ACT Human Rights Film Festival Bangla Surf Girls – Internationales Frauen Film Fest 35th July – Bangladesh's Deadly Protest – Bangladesh International Short and Independent Film Festival (BISIFF) (2025) Fearless Filmmaker Award – Coronado Island Film Festival (2021) Best Film – Vancouver Asian Film Festival (2021) Best Director – Vancouver Asian Film Festival (2021) Best Surf Documentary – Paris Surf & Skateboard Film Festival (2021) Women in Surf Award – Portuguese Film Festival (2021) Best Feature – Oakville Festival of the Arts (2021) Accolade Award – Accolade Global Film Competition (2021) Runner-up, Best International Director – Oakville Film Festival

From 2016 to 2017, Costa worked as a communications advisor for the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Bangladesh.