{
  "source": "https://www.robrombout.com/en/facts/",
  "verified": "2026-10-25",
  "name": "Rob Rombout",
  "formula": {
    "en": "Filmmaker and photographer, born in Amsterdam in 1953, based in Brussels since 1975 and in Lisbon.",
    "fr": "Cinéaste et photographe, né à Amsterdam en 1953, établi à Bruxelles depuis 1975 et à Lisbonne.",
    "nl": "Filmmaker en fotograaf, geboren in Amsterdam (1953), opgegroeid in Zaandam, sinds 1975 in Brussel en tegenwoordig ook in Lissabon.",
    "pt": "Realizador e fotógrafo, nascido em Amesterdão em 1953, radicado em Bruxelas desde 1975 e também em Lisboa."
  },
  "bio50": {
    "en": "Rob Rombout (born in Amsterdam, 1953) is a 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 was a founding member of the Erasmus Mundus master DocNomads and its course director in Brussels, 2012–2019.",
    "fr": "Rob Rombout (né à Amsterdam en 1953) est un cinéaste documentariste, photographe et pédagogue, 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. Membre fondateur du master Erasmus Mundus DocNomads, il en a dirigé le programme bruxellois de 2012 à 2019.",
    "nl": "Rob Rombout (geboren in Amsterdam, 1953) is 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 was een van de oprichters van de Erasmus Mundus-master DocNomads en van 2012 tot 2019 programmaleider in Brussel.",
    "pt": "Rob Rombout (nascido em Amesterdão em 1953) é realizador de documentários, fotógrafo e professor, 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. Foi membro fundador do mestrado Erasmus Mundus DocNomads e seu diretor de curso em Bruxelas, de 2012 a 2019."
  },
  "bio150_en": "Rob Rombout (born in Amsterdam, 1953; raised in Zaandam) is a 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 was a founding member of the DocNomads master and its course director in Brussels, 2012–2019. His photographs, collected in PORTRAITS / on the road (2024), have been shown in Paris, Lisbon and Bredevoort.",
  "facts": [
    {
      "k": "Born",
      "v": "8 July 1953, Amsterdam; raised in Zaandam",
      "s": "confirmed",
      "src": "BnF authority record; IMDb; De Orkaan (2025)"
    },
    {
      "k": "Based",
      "v": "Brussels since 1975; also Lisbon",
      "s": "confirmed",
      "src": "Cinemateca Portuguesa (2025)"
    },
    {
      "k": "Roles",
      "v": "Documentary filmmaker, photographer, teacher of film",
      "s": "confirmed",
      "src": "BnF; Cinemateca Portuguesa; DocNomads"
    },
    {
      "k": "Works",
      "v": "Some forty works since a 1978 student film, including about fifteen medium-length and feature documentaries",
      "s": "reported",
      "src": "IMDb credits; Rob Rombout's CV"
    },
    {
      "k": "Film school",
      "v": "RITCS, Brussels (student film, 1978)",
      "s": "reported",
      "src": "Videobrasil (1994); Rob Rombout's YouTube channel"
    },
    {
      "k": "Teaching",
      "v": "Documentary directing at Sint-Lukas, now LUCA School of Arts, 1988–2018; founding member of the DocNomads master and its course director in Brussels, 2012–2019; course director at the Hanoi film school (SKDA) for INSAS, 2010–2020",
      "s": "reported",
      "src": "CILECT; DocNomads Brussels-semester page; Rob Rombout CV (2025), for the Hanoi years"
    },
    {
      "k": "Best-known film",
      "v": "Amsterdam Stories USA (2012, with Rogier van Eck), world premiere at IDFA 2012",
      "s": "confirmed",
      "src": "IDFA archive"
    },
    {
      "k": "Award",
      "v": "Audience Award for a feature film, IndieLisboa 2013 (World Pulse section), for Amsterdam Stories USA",
      "s": "confirmed",
      "src": "IndieLisboa 2013 awards release (antigo.indielisboa.com/?p=12955); Eye for Film programme list (World Pulse)"
    },
    {
      "k": "Retrospectives",
      "v": "Videobrasil 1994; Guimarães 2016; DOCfeed Eindhoven 2018; Strasbourg 2022; Cinemateca Portuguesa 2025. Also a two-film focus at the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles, Paris, 2024",
      "s": "confirmed",
      "src": "Festival and institution programme pages"
    },
    {
      "k": "Books",
      "v": "Monograph by Marc-Emmanuel Mélon (Yellow Now, 2022); PORTRAITS / on the road (Yellow Now, 2024); On the Road – in Bredevoort (2026)",
      "s": "confirmed",
      "src": "Yellow Now; University of Liège ORBi; Koppelkerk"
    },
    {
      "k": "Professional roles",
      "v": "Vice-president of the Belgian committee of the SCAM, 1998–2005 and 2009–2013",
      "s": "reported",
      "src": "CBA; French Wikipedia"
    }
  ],
  "corrections": [
    {
      "date": "2026-10",
      "text": "Entre deux tours runs 16 minutes, not 52, as shown by the 2025 remaster.",
      "tr": {
        "fr": "Entre deux tours dure 16 minutes, et non 52, comme le montre la version restaurée de 2025.",
        "nl": "Entre deux tours duurt 16 minuten, niet 52, zoals de gerestaureerde versie van 2025 laat zien.",
        "pt": "Entre deux tours tem 16 minutos, e não 52, como mostra a versão restaurada de 2025.",
        "zh": "《Entre deux tours》片长16分钟，而不是52分钟，2025年的修复版本可以证明。"
      }
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-10",
      "text": "L'Homme qui en disait trop dates from 1985, not 1979.",
      "tr": {
        "fr": "L’Homme qui en disait trop date de 1985, et non de 1979.",
        "nl": "L’Homme qui en disait trop is van 1985, niet van 1979.",
        "pt": "L’Homme qui en disait trop é de 1985, e não de 1979.",
        "zh": "《L’Homme qui en disait trop》完成于1985年，而不是1979年。"
      }
    },
    {
      "date": "2026-10",
      "text": "At Canal Emploi in Liège, Rob Rombout directed films; he did not run the station.",
      "tr": {
        "fr": "À Canal Emploi, à Liège, Rob Rombout réalisait des films ; il ne dirigeait pas la chaîne.",
        "nl": "Bij Canal Emploi in Luik regisseerde Rob Rombout films; hij leidde de zender niet.",
        "pt": "No Canal Emploi, em Liège, Rob Rombout realizava filmes; não dirigia a estação.",
        "zh": "在列日的 Canal Emploi，Rob Rombout 拍摄影片；他并未管理这家电视台。"
      }
    }
  ],
  "identifiers": {
    "wikidata": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q15069902",
    "imdb": "https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0739157/",
    "youtube": "https://www.youtube.com/@rrfilms9560",
    "docnomads": "https://docnomads.eu/people/37-rob-rombout",
    "wikipedia_fr": "https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Rombout",
    "wikipedia_nl": "https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Rombout",
    "wikipedia_pt": "https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Rombout"
  }
}