Over thirteen years of revolution, war and exile, a Lebanese journalist and a Syrian activist chronicle their love story through text messages, voice notes and footage from the front lines.
Their relationship begins when London-based journalist Janay reaches out to Abd Alkader for footage from inside besieged Aleppo. What starts as a professional connection soon deepens into a partnership forged across borders and conflict. Drawing on a remarkable personal archive, BIRDS OF WAR traces a love story shaped by distance, danger and history in motion. As upheaval spreads from Syria to Lebanon and beyond, their roles as journalists and lovers become impossible to separate, revealing the enduring need for connection, witness and hope amid war's relentless uncertainty.
Content warning: contains scenes of war including graphic and distressing imagery.
- Festivals
- Sundance Film Festival, Hot Docs Festival
- Director
- Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak
- Executive Producer
- Claire Ferguson
- Producer
- Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak
- Screenwriter
- Janay Boulos, Katie Bryer, Abd Alkader Habak
- Cinematographer
- Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak
- Editor
- Will Hewitt
