About Czar

Czar is an international production company, that produces and co-produces feature films, short films, documentaries, tv shows and commercials. Above all, Czar is about talent, guts and the creativity of its directors and producers.

The production company was founded in 1999 by Belgian directors Koen Mortier and Joe Vanhoutteghem and quickly became one of the most influential production companies in Belgium and beyond. The work of Lionel Goldstein, the alias of directing duo Koen and Joe, played a key role in this success. Their projects have been awarded an impressive 18 Cannes Lions, including five gold, as well as a Grand Prix at Eurobest and numerous other prestigious awards. To this day, they continue to create films that surprise and innovate.

Since 2010, under the leadership of executive producer Eurydice Gysel and co-led creatively by Koen Mortier, Czar Film & TV has focused on director-driven cinema and ambitious TV projects. The company builds long-term collaborations with filmmakers who have a strong personal voice. Highlights include Ex Drummer, Alex van Warmerdam’s Borgman (Official Competition, Cannes), and three seasons of the international TV series The Missing, nominated for Golden Globes and BAFTA TV Awards.

Recent feature films include Skunk by Koen Mortier, which won Best Film at Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Just Film Competition) and Best Film at The Ensors 2025, The Weeping Walk by Dimitri Verhulst, and Jen Debauche’s experimental documentary The Anchor, starring Charlotte Rampling, which premiered at DocLisboa.

Current and upcoming projects include the co-productions Garden of Earthly Delights (Morgan Knibbe) and The Isle of the Demoiselle (Micha Wald), the film adaptation of the youth novel Joe Speedboot, and Czar’s first animated feature, Black Wolf (Raf Wathion).