Birds of War

Savaş Kuşları / Asafir al-Harb

DCP / Color / 85’
Arabic and English with Turkish and English Subtitles
United Kingdom, Syrian Arab Republic, Lebanon, 2026

Director: Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak
Screenplay: Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak
Cinematography: Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak
Editing: Will Hewitt
Cast: Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak, Boulos Ailesi, Habak Ailesi, Waad Al-Kateab, Hamza Al-Khateab
Producer: Sonja Henrici, Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak
Production: Habak Films, Sonja Henrici Creates
World Sales: Dogwoof

Synopsis

Savaş Kuşları / Birds of War—which has won awards at every festival it has attended since premiering at Sundance—is a rare cinematic blend of anti-war sentiment, a fight for freedom, and a love story. It chronicles the relationship between Janay Boulos, a Lebanese BBC reporter, and Abd Alkader Habak, a Syrian cameraman who filmed and broadcast the conflict to the world; their bond began as a professional collaboration during the height of the war in Syria, evolved through firsthand witness to the region’s military and political upheavals and their international repercussions, and ultimately culminated in their marriage in Istanbul. Composed largely of footage shot on the battlefield—including exploding bombs, the evacuation of Aleppo, and mobile phone recordings—as well as text and voice messages, Birds of War is a documentary that also examines professional ethics in the context of war reporting. It takes its title from the pet names Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak used for one another. Etching the thought “Your opinion about a war depends on which propaganda you allow into your home” into our minds, the documentary spans the timeline of events leading up to the days following the fall of the Assad regime.

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