Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

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Ernest Cole: Lost and Found

Released Nov 22

1h 46m

Documentary

Biography

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22 Reviews

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Ernest Cole, a South African photographer was the first to expose the horrors of apartheid to a world audience. His book House of Bondage, published in 1967 when he was only 27 years old, led him into exile in NYC and Europe for the rest of his life, never to find his bearings. Raoul Peck recounts his wanderings, his turmoil as an artist and his anger, on a daily basis, at the silence or complicity of the Western world in the face of the horrors of the Apartheid regime. He also recounts how, in 2017, 60,000 negatives of his work were discovered in the safe of a Swedish bank.

Monica Castillo

RogerEbert.com

Peck spends so much time unpacking Cole's inner life from his diaries and notebooks, because while the photos may live on in archives, those are the stories most at risk of disappearing from the frame.

Rated: 3/4

Nov 22, 2024

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Lisa Kennedy

New York Times

Peck’s film stands as a requisite biography, but also a personal homage: The response of one politically conscious artist to the call of another.

Nov 21, 2024

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Derek Smith

Slant Magazine

The film paints a vivid portrait of what life was like for Black South Africans under apartheid.

Rated: 2.5/4

Nov 17, 2024

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Carla Hay

Culture Mix

Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is a meaningful tribute to South African photographer Ernest Cole. However, it would’ve been a better documentary if it investigated how 60,000 negatives of Cole’s photos were secretly hidden in a Swiss bank for decades.

Dec 8, 2024

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Andrew Parker

The Gate

Ernest Cole: Lost and Found is a melding of art, social commentary, and biography working together in harmony, with each layer nicely informing everything else around it.

Rated: 7/10

Dec 6, 2024

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Liam Lacey

Original Cin

Raoul Peck’s hybrid narrative-documentary on the life of South African photographer Ernest Cole honours the memory of a groundbreaking artist and activist.

Rated: A-

Dec 2, 2024

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Raoul Peck

Director

LaKeith Stanfield

Ernest Cole

Raoul Peck

Writer

Raoul Peck

Producer

Tamara Rosenberg

Producer

Laurence Lascary

Line Producer

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Ernest Cole: Lost and Found: Trailer 1

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Synopsis

Ernest Cole, a South African photographer was the first to expose the horrors of apartheid to a world audience. His book House of Bondage, published in 1967 when he was only 27 years old, led him into exile in NYC and Europe for the rest of his life, never to find his bearings. Raoul Peck recounts his wanderings, his turmoil as an artist and his anger, on a daily basis, at the silence or complicity of the Western world in the face of the horrors of the Apartheid regime. He also recounts how, in 2017, 60,000 negatives of his work were discovered in the safe of a Swedish bank.

Director: Raoul Peck
Producer: Raoul Peck, Tamara Rosenberg
Screenwriter: Raoul Peck, Raoul Peck
Distributor: Magnolia Pictures
Production Co: Arte France Cinéma
Genre: Documentary, Biography
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Nov 22, 2024, Limited
Runtime: 1h 46m