Birds of War, an award-winning docudrama, tells the remarkable story of Lebanese journalist Janay Boulos and Syrian activist Abd Alkader Habak, who fell in love while documenting the horrors of the Syrian civil war. The film, out this week in the UK, uses 13 years of archive footage, voice notes, selfies, video calls, and text messages to chronicle their relationship against a backdrop of revolution, war, and hostile borders.
A Love Story Born from War
The pivotal moment occurs in 2017 during the bombing of an evacuee convoy in Aleppo. As Habak rushes to help the injured amid smoke and debris, Boulos sends a voice note from London: 'My bird are you OK? Get away from there, run.' She adds, 'I don't want footage. I don't want anything, just please take care. I am here whenever you want to talk.' This exchange marks the shift from colleagues to something deeper.
Boulos explains the film's origin: 'Originally I wanted to make a documentary about Lebanon and the war... But the more we thought about it, taking in a lot of very complicated history and politics and current events, to make it understandable, we should tell the story how we saw it.'
Healing Through Filmmaking
The film deliberately avoids graphic violence. Habak, with help from psychotherapist Rebecca Day, developed a 'traffic light system' for footage: green for safe use, orange for potentially distressing, and red for graphic material not included. 'Making this film has been healing,' says Habak, who initially struggled to look at his hard drives from Syria.
Day emphasizes the need for mental health support in documentary production: 'It's now normal for productions to employ intimacy coordinators. I'd like it to be industry standard for there to be some sort of reflective practice for dealing with traumatic material.'
Overcoming Odds
After the convoy bombing, Habak fled Syria via smugglers to Turkey. Boulos visited him, and they married within months—a fact she hid from her disapproving parents until the film's premiere. 'It was unbelievable for me,' says Habak. 'That this person would come from London to see me, a man from a war zone with nothing to offer.' He left Syria with only his camera, hard drives, and clothes.
Boulos calls the decision to meet him a 'no-brainer': 'It was harmless chatting online—but it shifted to something real. I really cared about him and his safety and felt a lot of guilt.'
A New Perspective on Conflict Journalism
Birds of War captures the disorienting nature of modern war reporting. In their first messages, Habak asks Boulos, 'Who are you?' Trust builds over time as they use pet names like 'bird' and 'little bird'—creatures that can cross borders they cannot. The film won the special jury award for journalistic impact at Sundance and prizes at Thessaloniki, Seattle, and Visions du Réel festivals.
After Habak joined her in London, Boulos quit the BBC to co-found Habak Films, an independent production company focusing on stories from Lebanon, Syria, and the region. 'It is a struggle when people back home are being killed daily,' says Boulos, referring to the Israel-Hezbollah war. 'I have the privilege of [being in] London, so let's be this company that bridges the local voices in Lebanon and Syria to western audiences.'
Uncertain Futures
The film ends after Habak unexpectedly returns to Syria in late 2024 when the opposition drives Assad from power. Yet the future remains uncertain. In one message from Beirut, Boulos asks Habak, 'How long can we keep doing this?' He replies, 'Just until the wars finish.' Birds of War is in UK cinemas from 3 July.
