Ernest Cole: Lost and Found (15)
Directed by Raoul Peck

 
THIS powerful and haunting documentary shines a light on the little-known story of Ernest Cole, a South African photographer who was the first to expose the horrors of apartheid to the world through his groundbreaking work. 

Written and directed by Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro), it is told through Cole’s eyes, and his own words and writings as narrated by LaKeith Stanfield as Cole. There are no interviews with experts, just his nephew remembering his uncle. 

In 1967 Cole’s book House of Bondage was published when he was just 27 years old. It became one of the most significant photobooks of the 20th century. Banned in South Africa, his work forced Cole to go into exile for the rest of his life, to New York City and Europe, which he spent feeling homesick and unable to return home.  

Fifty years later, in 2017, 60,000 unknown negatives were found in a Swedish bank vault. The film chronicles Cole’s life and work while attempting to solve the mystery of these negatives and who deposited them in this safe. 

The documentary opens with a montage of Cole’s black-and-white photos capturing life in South Africa under apartheid rule. They are bold and compelling, and extremely disturbing — especially those of images of signs enforcing segregation, such as a park bench with “Europeans only” painted on it. 

It is a heartbreaking film as Cole is full of hope and excitement heading to “the land of the free” only to discover it is just as racist as his homeland. There is an eerie montage of similar photos side by side comparing life in South Africa with life in New York. It is difficult to tell the difference.

He has a wonderful ability to capture a moment in time. His black-and-white photos are potent and unforgettable, and his later images in colour are vibrant and captivating. The people in them are fascinating and soulful. 

They are brought to vivid life by Stanfield’s poignant and melodic narration. 

Peck paints an intimate portrait of an extraordinary photographer who deserves to be seen and known and, one hopes, is finally receiving the recognition that he warrants. 

In cinemas March 7.