Guide · 2026-11-02 · 6 min

Making a documentary in Bangladesh: what to plan before you start

Research, access, seasons and trust: lessons from making documentaries from the Sundarbans to Cox's Bazar.

Bangladesh is full of stories that the world rarely sees: communities adapting to a changing climate, women running small businesses, clean water reaching a hill village for the first time. Making a documentary here is rewarding, but a few things decide whether a shoot goes smoothly.

Research comes first. Talk to the project team, read the reports and, if possible, visit before you film. The best scenes in our films often came from a conversation during research, not from the original plan.

Access takes time. Project sites, camps and protected areas need permission, sometimes from several offices. In places like the Rohingya camps in Cox's Bazar or the Sundarbans forest, the paperwork can take longer than the shoot. Start early and work with someone who knows the process.

Watch the season. The monsoon, roughly June to September, can cut off roads and turn a two-hour drive into a day. Winter, from November to February, gives dry roads and soft light, and is the busiest time for shoots. Some stories, like the honey season in the Sundarbans, only happen in a few weeks of the year.

Build trust with the people in front of the camera. Many contributors have never been filmed. Explain what the film is for, ask for consent, speak their language and give them time. A translator who is also part of the crew makes interviews much more natural.

Plan for the edit and the audience. Decide early whether the film is for television, a donor meeting or social media, and which languages you need. We deliver most documentaries with Bangla, English and Turkish subtitles.

FOLOK has made documentaries in Koyra, the Chittagong Hill Tracts, Singra, Cox's Bazar and the Sundarbans for broadcasters, international organisations and NGOs, from research and direction to filming and the final edit.