Rob Rombout
Dutch filmmaker and photographer, born in Amsterdam in 1953, based in Brussels since 1975 and in Lisbon.
Rob Rombout (b. 1953, Amsterdam) is a Dutch documentary filmmaker, photographer and teacher, based in Brussels since 1975 and now also in Lisbon. His films about journeys, vessels and places named after other places have screened at IDFA, Cinéma du Réel and IndieLisboa. He co-founded the Erasmus Mundus master DocNomads.
Full biography
Rob Rombout (b. 1953, Amsterdam; raised in Zaandam) is a Dutch documentary filmmaker, photographer and teacher, based in Brussels since 1975 and now also in Lisbon. Since a 1978 student film he has made some forty works, many broadcast by ARTE, RTBF and France Télévisions: films set in closed worlds that move, such as a night train to Moscow, a transatlantic liner and a North Sea oil rig, and films about places that borrowed a name, among them Amsterdam Stories USA (2012, with Rogier van Eck; IDFA; Audience Award, IndieLisboa 2013) and On the Track of Robert van Gulik (2016). His method is the subject of Marc-Emmanuel Mélon's monograph La mise en scène du réel (2022). He taught documentary directing at Sint-Lukas, now LUCA School of Arts, from 1988 to 2018, and co-founded the DocNomads master. His photographs, collected in PORTRAITS / on the road (2024), have been shown in Paris, Lisbon and Bredevoort.
“one of Europe's most original documentarists”
“cinéaste et pédagogue reconnu”
“documenteur du monde”
“He waits until a pose disappears, until your jaw relaxes.”
Timeline
1953–1978
From the Zaanstreek to film school
Born in Amsterdam on 8 July 1953 and raised in Zaandam. Moves to Brussels in 1975 and studies film at RITCS; his student film dates from 1978.
c. 1979–1987
Community television in Liège
Directs and edits for Canal Emploi, a television made with and for unemployed workers in Liège. Summer guests include Johan van der Keuken and Jean-Louis Comolli.
1987
The turn to form
Entre deux tours leaves direct cinema behind and opens his work to the language of video art.
1990–1994
Closed worlds in motion
A train to Moscow, the last transatlantic liner, an oil rig with eighty men and one woman.
1995–2004
Islands and extremes
The Azores, a festival in the Urals at minus twenty-five, the feral cats of Kerguelen, Guangzhou with Robert Cahen, eight train compartments in Alsace, the building of the Queen Mary 2.
1997–2012
Following a name
With Rogier van Eck, the places that carry the name Amsterdam: two islands at the ends of the earth, then fifteen American towns.
1988–
The teacher
Teaches directing at Sint-Lukas, later LUCA, from 1988 to 2018; co-founds the DocNomads master and directs it until 2019; ten years of sessions at the Hanoi film school; workshops from Beirut to Prague, São Paulo and Lisbon.
2010–2021
China and Judge Dee
A portrait of the Dutch diplomat and sinologist Robert van Gulik, filmed across three continents and screened across China.
2015–
Portraits and retrospectives
Photographs shown in Brussels, Porto, Brisbane, Liège, Paris, Lisbon and Bredevoort. A monograph in 2022, a photobook in 2024, retrospectives in Strasbourg and Lisbon. A new film, Video Veterans, in progress.
Biographies
English · 50
Rob Rombout (b. 1953, Amsterdam) is a Dutch documentary filmmaker, photographer and teacher, based in Brussels since 1975 and now also in Lisbon. His films about journeys, vessels and places named after other places have screened at IDFA, Cinéma du Réel and IndieLisboa. He co-founded the Erasmus Mundus master DocNomads.
Français · 50
Rob Rombout (né en 1953 à Amsterdam) est un cinéaste documentariste, photographe et pédagogue néerlandais, établi à Bruxelles depuis 1975 et désormais aussi à Lisbonne. Ses films sur les voyages, les navires et les lieux qui portent le nom d’autres lieux ont été montrés à l’IDFA, au Cinéma du réel et à IndieLisboa. Il a cofondé le master Erasmus Mundus DocNomads.
Nederlands · 50
Rob Rombout (Amsterdam, 1953) is een Nederlandse documentairemaker, fotograaf en filmdocent. Hij woont sinds 1975 in Brussel en tegenwoordig ook in Lissabon. Zijn films over reizen, schepen en plaatsen die naar andere plaatsen zijn vernoemd, werden vertoond op IDFA, Cinéma du Réel en IndieLisboa. Hij is medeoprichter van de Erasmus Mundus-master DocNomads.
Português · 50
Rob Rombout (Amesterdão, 1953) é um realizador de documentários, fotógrafo e professor neerlandês, radicado em Bruxelas desde 1975 e também em Lisboa. Os seus filmes sobre viagens, navios e lugares com o nome de outros lugares foram exibidos no IDFA, no Cinéma du Réel e no IndieLisboa. É cofundador do mestrado Erasmus Mundus DocNomads.