Archive
Rob’s films, photographs and teaching, and what has been written about them, from 1953 to today. Every work has a permanent address.
Timeline
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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.
Denken, denken, denken (1978)
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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.
Le pouvoir d'achat des chômeurs (1983) · L'Homme qui en disait trop (1985) · Pas de cadeau pour Noël (1986)
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1987
The turn to form
Entre deux tours leaves direct cinema behind and opens his work to the language of video art.
Entre deux tours (1987)
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1988–
The teacher
Teaches directing at Sint-Lukas, later LUCA, from 1988 to 2018; a founding member of the DocNomads master and its course director in Brussels, 2012–2019; ten years of sessions at the Hanoi film school; workshops from Beirut to Prague, São Paulo and Lisbon.
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1990–1994
Closed worlds in motion
A train to Moscow, the last transatlantic liner, an oil rig with eighty-five men and one woman.
Nord Express (1990) · Transatlantique, Queen Elizabeth 2 (1992) · L'Île noire (1994)
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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.
Les Açores de Madredeus (1995) · Perm-mission (1999) · Le Piège de Kerguelen (2000) · Canton la Chinoise (2001) · Les Passagers de l'Alsace (2002) · Kaléidoscope: Overloon (2003) · Kaléidoscope: The Jagiellonian University (2004) · Queen Mary 2, la reine des mers (2004)
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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.
Amsterdam via Amsterdam (1998) · Amsterdam Stories USA (2012)
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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.
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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, VideoVeterans, in 2026.
Joost de Vries (2016) · VideoVeterans (2026)
| No. | Year | Title | Medium | Places | Availability |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 1978 | Denken, denken, denken | Student film · 11′ | Brussels | Online on Rob Rombout's YouTube channel |
| 02 | 1983 | Le pouvoir d'achat des chômeurs | Television documentary · 21′ | Liège | In Rob's archive; ask whether it can be shown |
| 03 | 1985 | L'Homme qui en disait trop | Documentary · 22′ | Antwerp | In Rob's archive; ask whether it can be shown |
| 04 | 1986 | Pas de cadeau pour Noël | Documentary · 25′ | Liège | Online on Rob Rombout's YouTube channel |
| 05 | 1987 | Entre deux tours | Video essay · 16′ | Eben-Emael · Brunssum | Remastered 2025 · on request |
| 06 | 1990 | Nord Express | Documentary · 58′ | Paris · Berlin · Brest | On request |
| 07 | 1992 | Transatlantique, Queen Elizabeth 2 | Documentary · 58′ | Southampton · North Atlantic · New York | On request |
| 08 | 1994 | L'Île noire | Documentary · 52′ | North Sea | On request |
| 09 | 1995 | Les Açores de Madredeus | Documentary · 40′ | Azores | Remastered 2025 · DVD Arte Vidéo (2006) |
| 10 | 1998 | Amsterdam via Amsterdam | Documentary · 80′ | Amsterdam · Amsterdamøya, Spitsbergen · Île Amsterdam | CBA, Brussels · on request |
| 11 | 1999 | Perm-mission | Documentary · 52′ | Perm | On request |
| 12 | 2000 | Le Piège de Kerguelen | Documentary · 40′ | Kerguelen Islands | DVD Heure Exquise! · on request |
| 13 | 2001 | Canton la Chinoise | Documentary · 52′ | Guangzhou | On request |
| 14 | 2002 | Les Passagers de l'Alsace | Documentary · 53′ | Strasbourg and Alsace | CBA, Brussels · Heure Exquise! (non-commercial) |
| 15 | 2003 | Kaléidoscope: Overloon | Television series episode (ARTE) · 26′ | Overloon | In Rob's archive; ask whether it can be shown |
| 16 | 2004 | Kaléidoscope: The Jagiellonian University | Television series episode (ARTE) · 26′ | Kraków | In Rob's archive; ask whether it can be shown |
| 17 | 2004 | Queen Mary 2, la reine des mers | Documentary · 70′ | Saint-Nazaire · North Atlantic | On request |
| 19 | 2012 | Amsterdam Stories USA | Documentary in four parts · 4 × 90′ | New York · Amsterdam, New York · Amsterdam, Ohio | On request |
| 20 | 2016 | On the Track of Robert van Gulik | Documentary · 87′ | Leiden · Jakarta · Tokyo | Library and non-commercial screening licence available |
| 21 | 2016 | Joost de Vries | Portrait, episode of a series · 15′ | In Rob's archive; ask whether it can be shown | |
| 23 | 2026 | VideoVeterans | Documentary · 30′ | Brussels · Bredevoort | On request |
| P1 | 2015– | PORTRAITS / on the road | Photography | Brussels · Lisbon · Paris | – |
| P2 | 2025–2026 | On the Road – in Bredevoort | Photography | Bredevoort | – |
| P3 | 2016 | Amsterdam Stories | Photography | Amsterdam, New York · Amsterdam, Montana · Amsterdam, Texas | – |
| P4 | 1983–2018 | 35 Years on the Move | Photography | Brisbane | – |
| P5 | 2018 | Being [Not] There | Photography | Liège | – |
| B | 2027 | TRACES, on the road | Book | Yellow Now | |
| B | 2026 | On the Road – in Bredevoort | Book | ||
| B | 2024 | PORTRAITS / on the road | Book | Yellow Now | |
| B | 2022 | Rob Rombout. La mise en scène du réel | Book · Marc-Emmanuel Mélon | Yellow Now | |
| B | 2014 | Frontières de la non-fiction. Littérature, cinéma, arts | Book · Alison James, Christophe Reig | Presses universitaires de Rennes |
Atlas
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North Atlantic
Transatlantique, Queen Elizabeth 2 · Queen Mary 2, la reine des mers
North Sea
L'Île noire
Albania
Tirana
Tirana International Film Festival
Australia
Brisbane
Webb Gallery, Griffith University
Azerbaijan
Baku
Azerbaijan State University of Culture and Arts, FANTAZIA festival · Azerbaijan Carpet Museum, FANTAZIA Cultural Heritage Festival
Belarus
Brest
Nord Express
Belgium
Brussels
Denken, denken, denken · VideoVeterans · UPJB, Mois du doc
Liège
Le pouvoir d'achat des chômeurs · Pas de cadeau pour Noël · Yellow Now
Antwerp
L'Homme qui en disait trop
Eben-Emael
Entre deux tours
Heer
Hôtel Les Sorbiers · Hôtel Les Sorbiers, Mois du Doc
Brazil
São Paulo
CINUSP Paulo Emílio, Universidade de São Paulo · Videobrasil
China
Guangzhou
Canton la Chinoise · On the Track of Robert van Gulik
Taiyuan
On the Track of Robert van Gulik
Czechia
Prague
FAMU
Ecuador
Quito
Alianza Francesa de Quito
France
Paris
Nord Express · Musée Guimet, with the Société des Amis du Musée Guimet · Atelier Néerlandais, with the Centre Wallonie-Bruxelles and ENS Louis-Lumière
Strasbourg and Alsace
Les Passagers de l'Alsace · BNU, Arsmondo Îles festival of the Opéra national du Rhin · Lieu d'Europe, L'Europe des lettres
Saint-Nazaire
Queen Mary 2, la reine des mers
Groix
Festival International du Film Insulaire
Villeurbanne
Maison du livre, de l’image et du son (MLIS) · Maison du livre, de l’image et du son (MLIS)
Tourcoing
Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains
French Southern Lands
Île Amsterdam
Amsterdam via Amsterdam
Kerguelen Islands
Le Piège de Kerguelen
Germany
Berlin
Nord Express
Greece
Kalamata
Peloponnisos International Documentary Festival · Cultural Center of Kalamata, Peloponnisos International Documentary Festival
Kardamili
Kardamili Artdoc Festival
Athens
Athens School of Fine Arts, with the Peloponnisos International Documentary Festival
Indonesia
Jakarta
On the Track of Robert van Gulik
Ireland
Aran Islands
Galway and Inis Mór
Japan
Tokyo
On the Track of Robert van Gulik
Lebanon
Beirut
Institut français, Salle Montaigne · American University of Technology
Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar
European Film Festival Mongolia
Morocco
Fès
Festival Cinéma et Philosophie de Fès
Netherlands
Brunssum
Entre deux tours
Amsterdam
Amsterdam via Amsterdam · Netherlands Film Festival · IDFA
Overloon
Kaléidoscope: Overloon
Leiden
On the Track of Robert van Gulik
Bredevoort
VideoVeterans · Koppelkerk · Koppelkerk
Eindhoven
DOCfeed
Norway
Amsterdamøya, Spitsbergen
Amsterdam via Amsterdam
Poland
Kraków
Kaléidoscope: The Jagiellonian University
Portugal
Azores
Les Açores de Madredeus · Clube de Cinema da Ribeira Grande
Lisbon
Cinemateca Portuguesa · Cinemateca Portuguesa
Vila Real
UTAD, Universidade de Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro
Avanca
AVANCA International Film Festival
Porto
Palacete dos Viscondes de Balsemão · ESAP (Escola Superior Artística do Porto), at the Fundação da Juventude
Guimarães
Guimarães Cinema Som, Centro Cultural Vila Flor · Guimarães Cinema Som, Centro Cultural Vila Flor and Plataforma das Artes e Criatividade
Russia
Moscow
Nord Express
Perm
Perm-mission
Serbia
Belgrade
22nd International Festival of Ethnological Film
United Kingdom
Southampton
Transatlantique, Queen Elizabeth 2
United States
New York
Transatlantique, Queen Elizabeth 2 · Amsterdam Stories USA · On the Track of Robert van Gulik
Amsterdam, New York
Amsterdam Stories USA
Amsterdam, Ohio
Amsterdam Stories USA
Amsterdam, Georgia
Amsterdam Stories USA
Amsterdam, Texas
Amsterdam Stories USA
Amsterdam, Montana
Amsterdam Stories USA
Amsterdam, Idaho
Amsterdam Stories USA
Amsterdam, California
Amsterdam Stories USA
Baton Rouge
Louisiana State University, Department of French Studies · Louisiana State University
Vietnam
Hanoi
Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema (SKDA)
Written about Rob
- 2025Rob Rombout, a mise en scène do real
Cinemateca Portuguesa · retrospective and programme texts - 2025Rob Rombout, documenteur du monde
Les Plats Pays · interview, 20 January 2025 - 2022Marc-Emmanuel Mélon, Rob Rombout. La mise en scène du réel
Yellow Now · 256 pages · ISBN 978-2-87340-480-2 - 2022Being [Not] There: regards croisés sur l'œuvre de Rob Rombout
Symposium · ÉSAVL, University of Liège, Yellow Now - 2019Frontières de la non-fiction. Parole partagée dans les documentaires filmiques de Chantal Akerman, Robert Cahen et Rob Rombout
Presses universitaires de Rennes - 1994Retrospective text
Videobrasil, São Paulo - 1991A Journey Without Derailments
Ernie Tee · Skrien
Voices
Memories from people filmed, crew and audiences, published with their consent.
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