Gazing Through A Lens

This film explores a remarkable album of photographs created by Ali Khan Vali (1846–1902), long-time governor of the province of Azerbaijan in northwestern Iran and an avid photographer. The album is a unique collection of more than 1,400 photographs annotated with handwritten text across its 440 pages. Ali Khan Vali’s meticulous documentation of landscapes, settlements, historical monuments, and everyday life illuminates a critical era in Iranian history. The documentary examines the changes in representations of women and how the inclusion and exclusion of certain subjects can reflect the underlying social norms.