In 2003 Nayyef Hrebid, an Iraqi translator for the U.S. military, spotted Btoo Allami, a dashing soldier in the Iraqi army, and it was love at first sight for both men. "That’s the day I was born,” Allami reveals in the documentary Out of Iraq, debuting on Logo on June 13.

The two began a romance that was not just illegal, but could lead to their deaths. ( At least 36 men in Syria and Iraq have been killed by ISIS militants on charges of sodomy, according to OutRight Action International.)

When Hrebid became the target of an honor killing in 2009, he obtained a visa to the U.S. and fled—but Allami was forced to remain behind.

Despite beginning a new life in Seattle, Hrebid's determination to be reunited with his love never wavered—The two communicated each day on Skype and he even slept beside a huge mural of his boyfriend on his bedroom wall.

"We chatted every single day,” he told the audience at a special screening at L.A's Annenberg Space for Photography. “We wanted to create a home and ate breakfast and dinner together—like we lived together."

Hrebid (above) began writing impassioned letters to President Obama and Oprah Winfrey, begging for help in getting Allami out of Iraq and back into his arms.

Co-directed by Eva Orner and Chris McKim and produced by World of Wonder, Out of Iraq has already earned a reputation as a tearjerker after its premiere at the Los Angeles Film Festival last week. At the Annenberg on Saturday there were audible sobs.

"We love our home, but the people there don’t love us so we had to leave," Hrebid said at the post-film screening. "Our message with this film is to change the new generation to accept the LGBT community."

Out of Iraq premieres Monday, June 13, at 9pm on Logo.