KATSAKH Mediterranean Archives

Katsakh | քացախ is the Armenian word for vinegar.

The “Katsakh: Mediterranean Archives” project is a personal collection of non-fiction films shot on Super 8mm and 16mm cameras in towns and villages across the eastern Mediterranean from the 1920s to the 1970s. This collection aims to capture the region’s diverse life and culture, serving as a rich historical archive that invites viewers to connect with our past.

Each film in “Katsakh” represents a fight for memory, preserving moments that might otherwise fade. I hope these films spark new stories and conversations, creating a dialogue between the past and present. They serve as a form of resistance, celebrating life in a world that often erases us. They remind us that memory is crucial to our identity and our journey toward liberation.

For inquiries or further information, please contact us via email at katsakh.project@gmail.com

Katsakh in the press

À Tripoli, la Palestine des années 1920 renaît en musique Rayanne Tawil (2025)
L’Orient-Le Jour

Mouvance

Chantal Partamian (2026)
Hors Champ — Films de famille : voyager, Singularités des vies infimes

Rencontre avec Chantal Partamian : autour de son projet KATSAKH

Mathilde Rouxel (2023)
Le Blog du Festival du film franco-arabe

ترميم الذاكرة المصوّرة… شانْتال برتميان: أتلفْ أرشيفاً تَمحُ شعباً

Zaki Mahfoud (2023)
Al-Modon

Analog Futures | Katsakh

Analog Cookbook, Issue 5, (2022)
University of North Carolina Press

Talks

Lingering Traces: Collecting Absence in Family Films and Travelogues

Invited Lecture (2025)
International Association of Armenian Librarians and Archivists — In Focus #13

Film Restored

Invited Presentation (2025)
Deutsche Kinemathek, Berlin

Du politique dans l’usage des archives filmiques. Lectures et pratiques décoloniales : Les archives visuelles de la Méditerranée. Présentation du projet KATSAKH

Lecture & Presentation (2025)
CRIalt — Centre de recherches intermédiales sur les arts, les lettres et les techniques