Long before the glamour of Hollywood defined modern cinema, a small but groundbreaking film studio operated in Melbourne, Australia — and it was run by the Salvation Army. This studio, known as the Limelight Department, began producing films in 1898, but its roots stretch back even further to 1891, when Joseph Perry began using lantern slides to support the Army’s evangelical missions. Perry, an experienced photographer and technical innovator, teamed up with Herbert Booth, the son of Salvation Army founder William Booth, to harness the power of visual storytelling for both ministry and public outreach.

Over nearly two decades, the Limelight Department created more than 300 films, a staggering output for the time. While many of these productions were religious in nature, the studio also took on private and government contracts, producing promotional and educational films. Their most celebrated project, “Soldiers of the Cross” (1900), combined short films, hand-painted lantern slides, live orchestration, and a spoken narrative to present the dramatic stories of early Christian martyrs. Though not a film in the conventional modern sense, it is often considered one of the earliest multimedia feature presentations — a true innovation in blending faith with entertainment.

Despite its success and innovation, the Limelight Department was closed in 1910. Herbert Booth had been recalled to London years earlier, and new leadership within the Salvation Army grew concerned that the studio’s work was drifting from its core religious mission. There were also increasing worries about the commercial nature of the film projects, especially those done for government promotion. Without the visionary support of Booth and with priorities shifting, the Salvation Army chose to shut the department down. Even so, the legacy of the Limelight Department lives on in the history of early cinema, as a bold example of how religious purpose and emerging media once met in brilliant, flickering light.