Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

With his revealing book House of Bondage, photographer Ernest Cole showed from the inside what apartheid meant for black South Africans like himself in the late 1960s. The world was shocked. In the 1980s, Cole fell into obscurity, partly because his negatives seemed to have been lost. In 2017, a large portion were rediscovered. Cole died in poverty, but as if looking through his camera lens, director Raoul Peck reflects on his work and life. The voice-over is based on Cole's writings, with the focus on his phenomenal photographs. 

Raoul Peck manages to keep the film, made with thousands of Cole’s photos, captivating. The editing is so carefully constructed that you have time enough to absorb Cole’s sharp eye and flair for dramatic compositions while following the story at a comfortable pace. The powerful texts, delivered by the calm and measured voice of American actor LaKeith Stanfield, are taken from Cole's only book, House of Bondage.