LONDON: Journalist Janay Boulos first connected with Syrian cameraman Abd Alkader Habak in 2016, when the London-based BBC reporter sought footage from him during the final months of the battle for Aleppo.
What began as a professional relationship soon evolved into something more personal, sustained through written and recorded messages, and eventually into a love story now told in their documentary “Birds of War,” released in UK cinemas on Friday.
The film is set against the Syrian conflict and the 2019 protests in Boulos’ home country, Lebanon. It weaves together footage shot by both journalists — from the aftermath of attacks in Aleppo to Habak’s escape from Syria — alongside their messages checking in on one another, offering an intimate perspective on life shaped by war.
The film is set against the Syrian conflict and the 2019 protests in Boulos’ home country, Lebanon, offers an intimate perspective on life shaped by war.
“I find that the news headlines ... sometimes I feel like it’s scaremongering more than creating compassion,” Boulos said.
