Behind the camera
From Damascus to Småland — and out into the world.
Synas Media was founded by Jahja Alkhatib — director, cinematographer and editor with over 16 years in film. Born in Damascus, based in Sweden, he works natively in Arabic, Swedish and English.
That makes Synas Media an unusual partner for Middle East broadcasters: a production house with full Scandinavian access and an Arabic-speaking director who understands both audiences from the inside.
Before Synas Media · Egypt 2013
Message from Under the Sea رسالة من تحت الماء
Long before Synas Media existed, Jahja was behind the camera in Egypt. The documentary meets Syrian refugees who survived the sea — and were then locked up in Karmouz prison in Alexandria. Inside, the camera had to work close, from a low angle and often without faces in frame.
Directed by Mahmoud Hasan, the Arabic-language film was broadcast in 2014 on Orient TV. It is now in Synas Bio, in full and as a shorter cut.
Credentials
Awarded work, verifiable credits.
- Winner — Best Short Film
- "Skyddsrummet" · Luleå International Film Festival 2025
- Winner — Best Short Film
- "Stash" · Academy Film Festival 2024
- Winner — Best Cinematography
- "Stash" · David Film Festival 2024
- Nominee — Best Short
- "The Forest" · Circassian Film Festival 2020
- Semifinalist
- "The Red Eye" · Sweden Film Awards 2025
- Official Selection
- "Haleva" · Boden International Film Festival 2022
- Cinematography — Arabic TV documentary
- "Message from Under the Sea" · Orient TV 2014
Productions are listed on IMDb ↗, and Synas Media is a member of Filmregion Sydost, the regional film fund and network in south-east Sweden.
On the documentary side, the company works university-anchored: the Earth Logic Design Agency research film series for Linnaeus University is published in the university's design portfolio, and the flagship documentary From Trash to Power has Linnaeus University as its scientific anchor.
The full archive — documentaries, short films and awarded productions — is in Synas Bio.
How we work
Three languages, one production house.
We produce in Swedish, English and Arabic — development, filming, edit, versioning and subtitling handled in-house. For broadcasters and agencies that means one partner from Scandinavian access to Arabic-language delivery, and we are open to co-production.
We also produce commercial film for Swedish industry and business — Bravida, Swedrive, Sjöriket and others across southern Sweden.
Let's talk about your next production.
Co-production, production services in Scandinavia, or acquisition — we reply within 24 hours, in English or Arabic.