Sundance Award-Winning Documentary Birds of War Heads to New York Cinemas
- BIRDS OF WAR
- READING TIME: 4'
After its successful UK festival run, Birds of War is set to make its US theatrical debut at New York's IFC Center on Wednesday, 4th November. After that, it will have a national release to Los Angeles, San Francisco and select cities.
Directed by Lebanese journalist Janay Boulos and Syrian activist and cameraman Abd Alkader Habak, who are also its subjects, the 85-minute documentary brings together 13 years of personal and journalistic archives to tell the story of two people whose lives became intertwined while reporting on the Syrian civil war.
One of the film’s defining qualities is its decision to approach conflict through the experiences of the people reporting it. It challenges the separation between journalist and subject, showing how the people documenting history are themselves shaped by the events they cover. Boulos and Habak use personal photographs, mobile phone recordings, news footage, messages and conversations accumulated over more than a decade.
Birds of War made its world premiere at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Journalistic Impact.
Its European premiere at the Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival in Greece brought four further honours: the Silver Alexander in the International Competition, the FIPRESCI Critics Prize, the Human Rights in Motion Award and the Women in Film and Television Greece Award.
At Switzerland’s Visions du Réel, Birds of War won the Audience Award in the Wide Angle competition, demonstrating the film’s appeal beyond festival juries. It also received the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the Seattle International Film Festival.
The documentary’s UK premiere at Sheffield DocFest earned it a Special Mention for the Tim Hetherington Award, which celebrates filmmaking that explores humanitarian and political issues through compelling visual storytelling.
Beyond these award-winning appearances, the film has screened at festivals including Hot Docs in Canada, the Berlin Human Rights Film Festival, Sydney Film Festival, DC/DOX and Millennium Docs Against Gravity in Poland, extending its reach across Europe, North America and Australia.
Watch the official trailer or visit the film’s website for more information.
