A text message sent to ask for war footage marks the beginning of 13-year love affair. Janay Boulos, a London-based Lebanese journalist for the BBC, contacts Abd Alkader Habak, a cameraman and activist in Aleppo, looking for footage of the Syrian civil war to show the horrors of war to the world. Their relationship begins as that of a journalist and her source, but deepens into love through revolution, war, exile, and a long wait. The film’s protagonists and co-directors, Boulos and Alkader Habak reconstruct the brutal reality of Syria through the vast archives they have gathered, separately and together, over the years. Along the way, they tell a special, heartwarming love story of two people who have supported each other with jokes and affection. The contrast between the safe newsroom in London and the streets of Syria, where filming means risking your life, brings to mind the ethics witnessing and conveying the horrors of war, and the helplessness of those who can only watch. Birds of War won this year’s Sundance Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact.
Janay Boulos is a journalist and documentary producer who works between Lebanon and London. With experience spanning news, broadcasting, digital media, and field production, she has produced documentaries for international media outlets such as Al Jazeera and The New York Times. She is currently working on her second feature documentary, Until the Buzzing Stops. Her co-directed film Birds of War won the Special Jury Prize for Journalistic Impact in the World Cinema Documentary competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
Abd Alkader Habak is a Syrian cinematographer, activist, and documentary director. He documented the Syrian revolution for six years and continues his work between London and Syria, combining journalism and human rights documentaries. He is currently producing two short documentaries and his second feature film, Until the Buzzing Stops. He won the Special Jury Prize for Journalistic Impact in the World Cinema Documentary competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival for his co-directed film Birds of War.
From Busan International Film Festival 2026, No. 31
