Birds of War
A most unusual love story and a tale of human suffering in Syria blends together in the couple’s own unique documentary.
Image courtesy of Dogwoof Releasing.
by MANSEL STIMPSON
Sympathetic as this documentary is, I was unable to embrace it as fully as I wished. The filmmakers, Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, are telling their own story and the fact that most of it plays out against the tragic background of the Syrian Civil War makes it all the more welcome that they are able to incorporate a positive tale about a love match. Although Janay Boulos was a journalist based in London (she had joined the BBC's Arabic Service in 2016), she was a Lebanese Christian. Abd Alkader Habak in contrast was Syrian, a Muslim who was a cameraman and active on behalf of those who were pro-democracy and opposed the regime of President Bashara al-Assad. These two first made contact through messages related to their work. Abd would inform her of material that he had shot capturing daily life in Aleppo (one example was his filming of how food scarcity was encouraging people to grow vegetables in pots on their rooftops) and Janay would respond by suggesting which ideas of his might appeal for use by the BBC. At this stage they would address each other as "my friend" little suspecting how their relationship would develop.
When I first heard of Birds of War, I was reminded of one of the best documentaries that reached us during 2025, Love + War. That film by Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin was a study of Lynsey Addario, a war photographer who had made her work her mission in life. The revealing pictures that she had captured of many wars including that in Ukraine were featured, but uniquely the film studied her inner conflict arising from the fact that her vital work involved a heavy price because she was also a wife and a mother. That blend made Love + War stand out from all other documentaries related to recent wars. It seemed possible that in its own way the love that grew up against the odds between Janay and Abd despite the nature of the circumstances that brought them together would likewise give this film a special appeal.
If in the event I found Birds of War falling short of that, it is for several reasons. One arises because the footage of wartime Aleppo, which makes up a quite substantial part of the film, is so similar to what has been shown already in documentaries. The Syrian Civil War raged from 2011 to 2024 and consequently it was central on screen as long ago as 2013 in Talal Derki’s award-winning Return to Homs. Even more of a mark was made by 2019’s Oscar nominated For Sama which was indeed set in Aleppo and which caught public attention to a degree that is comparatively rare for a documentary. Indeed, it rather distracted attention from another gripping documentary which came out in the same year. That was The Cave which was filmed in Ghouta, Syria and showed female doctors struggling to help war victims: it was directed by Feras Fayyad who had already made Last Men in Aleppo in 2017. The horror of the suffering in Syria’s war was such that we ought not to forget it, but that can't eliminate the sense that in the scenes which echo all those earlier works Birds of War contains little which has impact through being so familiar. An exception provides one of the film’s best scenes. It happens when Abd having feared the worst suddenly learns that a deal has been announced, one allowing those like himself in Eastern Aleppo to evacuate. His filming of this departure shows many of those leaving trying to be upbeat and declaring that one day they will return to their city. But in contrast Abd himself muses that they may have to make do with their memories.
What we see in Birds of War was photographed by Abd and Janey themselves but initially they built up their rapport through long distance messaging. Consequently, even though the film sometimes features their own voices repeating what was said, the film frequently writes the words up on screen superimposing them one by one over the photographed image. This is a device which soon comes to feel self-conscious as does the occasional use of split screen. It is also the case that the film’s opening, a preview of Abd’s night-time flight in 2017, is set up and shot like an unacknowledged re-enactment (this was his attempt to reach Turkey from Idlib which was home to his parents). That is not the best way to draw one in to this real-life story, but there is also a further problem with it. That arises when the same scene recurs later since in doing so it suggests that we are reaching a climax which betokens that the film is nearing its end. That seems to be confirmed when shortly thereafter the couple decide to marry but in fact the whole last third of the piece is yet to come. What follows is interesting but becomes to some extent bits and pieces since it lacks any clear sense of what shape the remaining narrative will take.
Despite these drawbacks, the growing relationship between Janay and Abd makes this a heartwarming film and early on the opportunities are taken to fill in the background of both of them. In due course, we also get to meet each set of parents and eventually discover their reactions to the fact that Janay and Abd have indeed married (it is striking that due to their diverse backgrounds they chose for months to keep this secret). Bringing their story up-to-date does have the advantage of encompassing more recent history, be it the flight of Assad in 2024 leading to Abd being able to see his family who had remained in Syria or important events in Lebanon. The protest there that led to the resignation of the government in 2019 drew Janay back on a visit although the great changes hoped for did not happen. Largely based in London where the couple were together, their ties to Lebanon and Syria respectively meant that England did not really feel like home to them. With Janay having left the BBC, they continue to express their concerns over human suffering due to war as evidenced for example by their joint attendance at a Free Palestine demonstration. Indeed, the very making of this film by the two of them is confirmation of the course that they are taking together. They expect that to go on and what is happening in Lebanon now is, alas, confirmation that they have every reason to believe that the need for them to continue in this vein will not end any time soon.
Featuring Janay Boulos, Abd Alkader Habak, the Boulos Family, the Habak Family, Waad and Hamza Khateab.
Dir Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, Pro Sonja Henrici, Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, Screenplay Janay Boulos and Abd Alkader Habak, Ph Abd Alkader Habak and Janay Boulos, Ed Will Hewitt with Tanya Singh, Music Harpal Mudhar and Darren Sng.
Screen Scotland/Habak Films/Sonja Henrici Creates-Dogwoof Releasing.
85 mins. UK/Syria/Lebanon. 2026. UK Rel: 3 July 2026. Cert. 12A.