Documentary | “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” | Lake Placid | February 28
- Lake Placid Center for the Arts 17 Algonquin Drive Lake Placid, NY, 12946 United States (map)
“Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” at Lake Placid Center for the Arts
Witness this groundbreaking documentary on February 28, 2024.
'Ernest Cole: Lost and Found' Cannes Film Festival
Ernest Cole was a groundbreaking South African photographer who brought the horrors of apartheid to a global audience. His influential book, “House of Bondage,” was published in 1967 when he was only 27. This work led to his exile in New York City and Europe, where he struggled to find stability for the rest of his life. Cole passed away in 1990 in Manhattan at the age of 49.
It was a dark and snow night in “The Mousetrap.”
The documentary “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found,” directed by Raoul Peck, rekindles interest in the photographer. Cole focused his lens on fellow Black South Africans enduring the daily injustices and violence imposed by a system that controlled their movements but not their essence.
Director Peck highlights Cole’s journey, detailing his struggles as an artist and his deep frustration with the silence or complicity of the Western world in the face of the brutal apartheid regime.
In 2017, a significant collection of Cole’s work was discovered in a safe deposit box in Sweden. Among the cache were the black-and-white images featured in “House of Bondage,” which was originally published in 1967. This book resulted in the then-26-year-old Cole being banished from his homeland.
Placing Cole in historical context.
Copyright Ernest Cole/Magnum Photos.
Peck’s filmography includes narrative and documentary work tackling social, political and historical subjects, including “I Am Not Your Negro”, Lumumba, Peck’s “The Young Karl Marx,” and “Silver Dollar Road,” as well as his four-part HBO documentary series called “Exterminate All the Brutes.”
The new film chronicles Ernest Cole’s life and work through his own words, thoughts, and images — reintroducing a pivotal Black photographer to a whole new generation.
Praise for “Ernest Cole: Lost and Found.”
Writing about the film in “Variety",” noted film critic Owen Gleiberman said: “Watching ‘Lost and Found,’ you’re moved by a life that veered into tragedy, yet the place it lands lifts you up. More than a great photographer, Ernest Cole captured something essential. By the end, you feel the ghost is speaking to you.”
See something that means something.
“Ernest Cole: Lost and Found” is part of The Greater Adirondack Film Commission’s long-running See Something That Means Something monthly film series.
Each month, screening at the Lake Placid Center for the Arts (LPCA), Adirondack Film presents thoughtful and provocative films from around the globe.
Adirondack Film's mission is to advance the art and appreciation of film and filmmaking in the greater Adirondack region. The organization’s goals include presenting high-quality, independent art, foreign language, documentary, and high-end studio films—not typically shown at the local multiplex.
Adirondack Film also encourages local filmmaking, promotes regional filmmakers and serves independent movie theater owners.
Where to eat, shop, stay and things to do in Lake Placid.
Shop our store for unique Adirondack gifts, clothing, merchandise and cool stuff.
Upcoming events and things to do in the Adirondack Tri-Lakes and High Peaks region.
Navigate to Lake Placid Center for the Arts
- Posted In: Events, Tri-Lakes & High Peaks, Lake Placid