The Golestan Palace World Heritage Site has announced the discovery of 31 film reels dating back to the Qajar dynasty, which experts believe may include some of the earliest motion pictures ever recorded in Iran—potentially marking the dawn of Iranian cinema.
According to Afarin Emami, director of the Golestan Palace complex, the reels were identified during an ongoing project to catalog and preserve historical objects from the palace’s Album House collection. The films were found in boxes previously labeled as “raw film stock,” but close examination revealed that 31 of the reels contained actual recorded images.
The collection includes 28 reels of 35 mm film and 3 reels of 16 mm film. Specialists and custodians of the Album House made the discovery during archival review and preservation work.
Emami said that further technical study and expert analysis are required to determine the exact content and dating of the films, noting that they may extend the historical record of visual documentation from the late Qajar era, especially following the known footage from the reign of Mozaffar ad-Din Shah. “These films could provide invaluable insights into the Qajar period and may reshape our understanding of the earliest phase of Iranian cinematic history,” she added.
The Golestan Palace Album House currently holds over 61,000 historical artifacts, including early cameras and Qajar-era films, photo albums, paintings, glass negatives, and other related works.
It is recognized as the second most significant album collection in the world after the Windsor Album House in the United Kingdom.
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