Rob Rombout
In 1975 many people looked for freedom in Amsterdam. I found it in Brussels.
Rather than start from a theme or a message, I keep my eyes open, without hurry, sometimes without purpose. A convincing messenger I have never been.
A wall, a bus stop, a shadow in the street: anything can come loose from its ordinary meaning. A dog or a cow by the roadside, a brief contact, and the world looks back.
Encounters on the road sometimes become unexpectedly deep, perhaps precisely because they pass.
Not the destination, but the journey. Not the subject, but the moment when something becomes visible.
In brief
Born in Amsterdam in 1953, grew up in the Zaan region. Has lived and worked in Brussels since 1975, and now also in Lisbon. Works in Dutch, French and English.
He taught documentary directing at Sint-Lukas, now LUCA School of Arts, in Brussels from 1988 to 2018, and is a co-founder of DocNomads, the international master’s in documentary film. He was also course director at SKDA, the film and theatre school in Hanoi.
He can be invited for screenings with a talk, masterclasses, workshops, juries and exhibitions.
Recognition
- 1988First jury prize, Montbéliard, for Entre deux tours
- 1994Retrospective and workshop, Videobrasil, São Paulo
- 2012World premiere of Amsterdam Stories USA at IDFA, Amsterdam
- 2013Audience Award, IndieLisboa, for Amsterdam Stories USA
- 2016Complete retrospective, Guimarães
- 2022Focus Rob Rombout, Strasbourg, and Marc-Emmanuel Mélon’s monograph La mise en scène du réel
- 2025Retrospective and exhibition, Cinemateca Portuguesa, Lisbon
“He waits, until a pose falls away, until your jaw relaxes.”
“documenteur du monde”