Few photographers have risked as much as Ernest Cole, and the new documentary Ernest Cole: Lost and Found brings the life and work of the exiled South African photographer into sharp focus. Directed by Raoul Peck and narrated by Academy Award nominee LaKeith Stanfield, the film will be released in cinemas on March 7, 2025, following its prestigious L'Œil d'Or, Le Prix Du Documentaire win at Cannes 2024.
Cole is renowned as one of the most important documentary photographers in history, chronicling the reality and brutality of Apartheid in South Africa. His landmark 1967 photo book House of Bondage exposed the brutal realities of the Apartheid era in South Africa through a courageous lens.
Above: The official trailer for Ernest Cole: Lost and Found
Cole's images are raw and fearless, and capture the segregation, oppression, and daily indignities inflicted upon Black South Africans; and for this, he paid a heavy price. Forced into exile, Cole spent the rest of his life between New York and Europe, unable to return home and unable to settle. Despite his significant contributions to showcasing the reality of Apartheid to the rest of the world, he died in near anonymity in 1990, just as the Apartheid system he had so powerfully documented was beginning to collapse.
Cole experienced firsthand the injustices of Apartheid, famously stating, "Three hundred years of white supremacy in South Africa have placed us in bondage, stripped us of our dignity, robbed us of our self-esteem, and surrounded us with hate."
He was one of the first Black freelance photographers in South Africa, covertly working for Drum Magazine and the New York Times, capturing the struggles of daily life, from miners and domestic workers to children denied education under the Bantu Education Act. In 1966, he fled to New York, smuggling out hundreds of photographs that would create House of Bondage; one of the most important photo books of the twentieth century.
Peck’s film is more than just a biography, however. In 2017, over 60,000 of Cole’s negatives were discovered in a Swedish bank vault; an extraordinary body of work that had been presumed lost. Ernest Cole: Lost and Found pieces together his story through newly unearthed images, Cole's writings, and archival recordings, giving Cole the recognition he was denied during his lifetime.
For those who saw House of Bondage at The Photographers’ Gallery, Cole's work is undeniably powerful and important, and this film is essential viewing not just for photographers but for all. For those encountering Cole’s work for the first time, Lost and Found promises to be just as powerful a testament to the courage of a photographer who used his camera as a weapon against injustice; a theme that is just as relevant in today's world.
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found directed by Raoul Peck and produced by Dogwoof will hit cinemas on March 7, 2025.
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Dogwoof is also the production company behind the hotly anticipated I am Martin Parr film. If you want to see more films about photographers check out our guide.
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