Bangla Surf Girls
Elizabeth D Costa
Canada, Bangladesh. 2021. 86 min

Shobe, Aisha and Suma break away from the drudgery of their lives by joining a surf club in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. The girls fight family pressure and social judgement, for a few hours on the waves each day and gain confidence as their natural skill and prowess gains attention and praise. The joy and freedom of the waves are a stark change from the abuse and hardship they face at home. Soon they are poised to make history as Bangladesh’s first women surfers. However the fate of the club itself hangs on the leadership of the coach who has his own challenges. The odds stack up but the girls refuse to give up. .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.