Syrian Cassette Archives on Film

Directed by Yamen Mekdad

Syrian Cassette Archives is an initiative that, since 2018, has aimed to preserve, share, and research sounds and stories from Syria’s abundant cassette era. From the 1970s through the 2000s, cassette tapes carried not only music but also memory: wedding songs, devotional recitations, propaganda, and experimental voices that slipped past censorship. Their films follow the traces of cassette shops, collectors, and communities that sustained this culture for decades, illuminating the fragile yet resilient relationship between sound and survival.

Yamen Mekdad is a Syrian artist and organizer working between London and Damascus. He co-founded several music and cultural collectives, directs the Syrian Cassette Archives and Rock Paper Scissors, and recently premiered his film Shapeshifting at Sheffield DocFest.

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