Year: 2026
Directors: Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak
Producers: Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak, Sonja Henrici
Production Companies: Sonja Henrici Creates
Distributor: Dogwoof
Screen Scotland support: The film accessed £95,000 through Screen Scotland’s Film Development and Production Fund, and was brought to audiences with the help of Screen Scotland’s Distribution Fund.
Synopsis
The love story of a London-based Lebanese journalist and a Syrian activist and cameraman as told through 13 years of personal archives across revolutions, war, and exile.
“Can you find a story and film it?”
“Yes, but who are you? All I know is that you’re from the BBC.”
Although they wouldn’t realize it yet, this text exchange begins the love story of filmmakers Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak. With international journalists banned during the Syrian civil war, outlets like the BBC must rely on activists on the ground to provide footage. Trading text messages and voice notes between London and Aleppo, Boulos tasks Habak to capture editorially approved stories, but, gradually, theirs shifts from a working relationship to something more.
Immersive and emotional, Birds of War traces their parallel lives — Boulos becoming disenchanted with journalism, Habak facing the inevitable fall of Aleppo — as they grow closer.
As both Syria and Boulos’ homeland of Lebanon undergo dramatic developments, the couple reflects on the sacrifices made because of politics and war, but also on what they’ve gained.
More information
Premiere: Birds of War had its World Premiere at Sundance Film Festival 2026 in the World Cinema Documentary Competition, followed by its European Premiere at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in March 2026. The film had its UK Premiere at Sheffield DocFest in June 2026, where it screened in the Journeys strand.
Festivals: The film has screened at festivals around the world including Seattle International Film Festival 2026, Human Rights Film Festival Berlin 2026, Hot Docs Festival 2026, DocLands Documentary Film Festival 2026, Sydney Film Festival 2026 and DC/DOX 2026.
Theatrical release: Birds of War was released in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on Friday 3 July 2026.
Awards: Winner of the World Cinema Documentary Speical Jury Award for Journalistic Impact at Sundance Film Festival 2026, the 2026 Visions du Reel Audience Award, and the Silver Alexander in the International Competition, the FIPRESCI Award for Best Feature Documentary, the Human Rights in Motion Award by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) and the Women in Film and TV (WIFT GR) Award at the 2026 Thessaloniki International Documentary Film Festival.
Image credits: Stills courtesy of Sonja Henrici