Over 30 film reels from the Qajar Empire have been discovered at Golestan Palace, dated to 1896–1907. They contain some of the earliest footage in Iran’s history, featuring Persian celebrations during that period, government officials in royal palaces, and the dawn of the country’s cinema. [720×402]

Afarin Emami, director of the Golestan Palace World Heritage Complex, announced that during the process of organizing and remodeling the Album House and examining boxes labeled “raw film,” 31 film reels containing images from the Qajar period were discovered.

She stated: “While carrying out preventive conservation operations in the storage room of the Album House, I noticed that among the acid-free boxes labeled as raw film, there were 31 reels that actually contained recorded footage. The collection includes 28 reels of 35mm film and 3 reels of 16mm film, depicting various subjects from the Qajar era — such as celebrations held during that period, Muharram ceremonies, government officials in palaces, and several other themes that require further study before being announced or exhibited.”

“These films may provide valuable and fresh insights into the Qajar era and its atmosphere, complementing existing footage from Mozaffar ad-Din Shah’s period. They could even reshape our understanding of the early history of Iranian cinema.”

The Album House of Golestan Palace holds over 61,000 historical objects, including Qajar-era cameras, photographic albums, portraits, glass negatives, and other related artifacts. It is regarded as the world’s second most important album collection after the Windsor Album House in England.

A video:

[https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP9ZyJMkX-o/](https://www.instagram.com/reel/DP9ZyJMkX-o/)

Sources:

[https://www.chtn.ir/news/1404072602515/%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%DB%B3%DB%B1-%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%82%D9%87-%D9%81%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%AE-%DA%AF%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86](https://www.chtn.ir/news/1404072602515/%D8%B4%D9%86%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%DB%B3%DB%B1-%D8%AD%D9%84%D9%82%D9%87-%D9%81%DB%8C%D9%84%D9%85-%D9%82%D8%A7%D8%AC%D8%A7%D8%B1%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%DA%A9%D8%A7%D8%AE-%DA%AF%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86)

[https://www.irna.ir/news/85971441/%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B2%DA%AF%D8%B4%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%86%D8%AE%D8%B3%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%B6%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AC%D8%B4%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%87](https://www.irna.ir/news/85971441/%D8%B1%D9%85%D8%B2%DA%AF%D8%B4%D8%A7%DB%8C%DB%8C-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D9%86%D8%AE%D8%B3%D8%AA%DB%8C%D9%86-%D8%AA%D8%B5%D8%A7%D9%88%DB%8C%D8%B1-%D8%B6%D8%A8%D8%B7-%D8%B4%D8%AF%D9%87-%D8%AF%D8%B1-%D8%A7%DB%8C%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%86-%D8%A7%D8%B2-%D8%AC%D8%B4%D9%86-%D9%87%D8%A7%DB%8C-%D8%AF%D9%88%D8%B1%D9%87)