边境之鸟 Birds of the Borderlands

Genderqueer Australian filmmaker Jordan Bryon’s intense and compelling piece of guerrilla filmmaking powerfully illuminates four queer Arab stories.

Jordanian teenager Hiba is transitioning in secret, fearful of being killed by her Bedouin tribe. Gay Iraqi refugee Youssef fled Baghdad after his boyfriend was murdered and is living in limbo in Bryon’s safe house in Amman. Lesbian feminist Rasha hides her sexuality and her relationship with Bryon from her family while striving for LGBTIQ visibility. Khalaf, a gay Imam turned activist, lives a lonely life in Beirut while waiting for asylum in Canada.

As Bryon becomes more entangled in the struggles of these ‘birds of the borderlands’ - blurring the lines between lover, friend, filmmaker, and activist – tensions explode and a dangerous crisis emerges.