Amsterdam via Amsterdam
Rogier Van Eck, Rob Rombout
1997 - 40 min - Super 16 mm & Vidéo - Couleur - Belgique, France

Rob Rombout and Rogier van Eck decided to return to their roots, Amsterdam, via two homonymous islands near the northern and southern extremeties of the world. Four centuries later, they followed in the footsteps of two illustrious 16th century Dutch navigators : Willem Barentsz and Cornelis van Houtman who left Amsterdam to open the routes to the spices islands.
What emerges from this road-movie made up of successive encounters is a portrait of Amsterdam in the form of a triptych. From the city to the islands, the film sketches a new geography of Amsterdam that unites the space of the voyage with the reality of the three places.
This 40-minute version is the first phase of a 90-minute feature-length documentary. It narrates their odyssey from Amsterdam to the northern island, in the Spitsberg archipelago, and from the island back to Amsterdam, in a visual process of toing and froing : Amsterdam via Amsterdam.