How Bangladesh is building houses that resist floods Mongabay

Broadcast by Mongabay

Broadcaster / client
Mongabay
Filmed in
Bangladesh
My role
Director of photography
Year
2025
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About the film

Khudi Bari Documentary: Filming Bangladesh's Flood-Resistant Tiny Houses for Mongabay

"How Bangladesh is building houses that resist floods" is a short environmental documentary for Mongabay, the global conservation and climate news outlet. I filmed it on location in the remote river islands (chars) of Jamalpur, Bangladesh, working directly in the field with Lucia Torres, Video Managing Editor of Mongabay.

The Story

The film follows Khandoker Mohammad Bulbul, a young farmer who has just married and moved to a char on the Jamuna River. Land here is cheap, but every monsoon the river floods homes, destroys crops and forces families to start again. As the rainy season comes closer, Bulbul prepares to build his own Khudi Bari — a small, raised house made to survive the water.

About Khudi Bari and Marina Tabassum

Khudi Bari ("tiny house" in Bangla) was designed by the celebrated Bangladeshi architect Marina Tabassum of Marina Tabassum Architects. Built mainly from local bamboo with steel joints, each house has two levels: when floods come, the family, their food and their belongings move to the upper floor. When the river eats away the land, the whole house can be taken apart and rebuilt somewhere safer.

The project won the 2025 Aga Khan Award for Architecture — Tabassum's second Aga Khan Award, making her the first Bangladeshi architect to win it twice. She was also named in TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2024. In the Jamalpur char where we filmed, villagers are now building new Khudi Bari homes with their own hands through hands-on workshops — a powerful example of community-led climate adaptation.

Behind the Camera: Filming in a Remote Char

This was one of the most physically demanding shoots of my career. The location has no roads. We reached the village first by country boat across the Jamuna, then by horse cart over the sand, carrying all our camera gear. I worked with a very small crew — just myself and one logistics assistant — to keep our footprint light and stay close to the community.

Midway through filming, a storm hit the char. We kept the cameras rolling and protected the gear, and those moments became part of the film's honest picture of life on the river — exactly the kind of weather that Khudi Bari is built to survive.

My Role

Cinematographer (DOP) — all camera work on location, from intimate character portraits of Bulbul to observational footage of the community building the house, wide landscapes of the char, and the storm as it rolled in.

Credits

  • Client: Mongabay
  • Producer / Editor: Lucia Torres, Video Managing Editor, Mongabay
  • Cinematographer (DOP): Wasif Kabir
  • Location: Char area, Jamalpur, Jamuna River, Bangladesh
  • Released: 2026

Looking for a documentary cinematographer in Bangladesh or South Asia for climate, environment or human stories in hard-to-reach places? Get in touch.

Stills from the shoot

20 frames · click to enlarge

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