Ernest Cole: Lost and Found, a new documentary by Oscar-nominated filmmaker Raoul Peck, explores the life of Ernest Cole, one of South Africa’s first Black freelance photographers. Cole’s 1967 book, House of Bondage, banned in South Africa, exposed the brutal realities of apartheid and established his international acclaim.
Exiled to the U.S. in 1966, Cole documented racial divides in New York City and the American South, drawing eerie parallels to his homeland. After his death, over 60,000 lost film negatives were found in a Stockholm vault. Peck’s film revisits Cole’s legacy through these images, his writings, and recollections from those who knew him.
