Documentaries Bring War-Damaged Palaces, Forgotten Memories to the Screen

TEHRAN — Iranian documentary filmmaker Mehdi Bagheri is seeking a place at the 20th edition of the Iran International Documentary Film Festival, Cinema Vérité, with two films exploring different dimensions of the country’s cultural memory: the vulnerability of its historic architecture and the preservation of its photographic heritage.
The documentaries, Heritage: Water and Mirror (Miras-e Ab va Ayeneh) and The Noah’s Ark Photographer (Akkas-e Keshti-ye Nuh), have been submitted for consideration at the upcoming festival. Their submission does not yet constitute confirmation of selection.
The first film focuses on Chehel Sotoun Palace in Isfahan and Golestan Palace in Tehran, two prominent examples of Iran’s architectural heritage that sustained damage during the recent war. Through the stories of the affected monuments, Bagheri examines the importance of safeguarding historic sites amid armed conflict.
Both palaces are UNESCO World Heritage properties. Their international recognition has helped draw attention beyond Iran to the consequences of the terrorist U.S.-Israeli war for the country’s cultural heritage.
The documentary also explores the broader significance of protecting monuments whose historical and architectural value extends beyond national borders.
Bagheri’s second film takes a markedly different approach, turning to a collection of photographs documenting everyday life in Marand, a city in East Azerbaijan province.

The Noah’s Ark Photographer centers on a local photographer who, during the 1960s (Iranian calendar decade of the 1340s), captured ethnographic images of residents, their surroundings and their daily routines.

The photographs serve as a visual record of the city’s people and social life, offering a glimpse into a period that might otherwise remain largely undocumented. The film also draws on a local legend associating Marand with the wife of Noah, weaving the story into its exploration of memory, place and historical identity.

The two projects form part of Bagheri’s wider interest in historical documents and real-life narratives. In an earlier interview, the filmmaker described his documentary work as a trilogy built around archival materials and historical sources. He identified Behind the Red Light (Posht-e Cheragh-e Ghermez) as the first film in the series and The Noah’s Ark Photographer as its second instalment, with a third project also planned.

The 20th edition of Cinema Vérité, organized by Iran’s Documentary and Experimental Film Center, is scheduled for December 2026 in Tehran. The festival brings together Iranian and international documentary filmmakers and provides a platform for works addressing cultural, historical and contemporary subjects.

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Documentaries Bring War-Damaged Palaces, Forgotten Memories to the Screen