Lieven Van Baelen

Lieven began his first steps in advertising as a telecine operator. This then led him to quickly become one of Belgium’s leading colour graders. Later on he started working as a director of photography on commercials and music videos, which he still occasionally does on his own projects.

In 1999 he directed his first short film ‘The Thread’ which subsequently won several international directing awards. In 2006, he won a Eurobest Award and a Gold CCB (Creative Club Belgium) Award for his Dexia ‘Club Brugge’ commercial. He continued to develop his craft and has directed for major international brands such as Audi, BMW, Samsonite, Heineken, Grolsch, Canon, Coca-Cola, Nissan, Renault, Citroën, Bacardi & Ikea. In 2014 he directed the music video ‘Ta Fête’ for the amazingly popular and internationally known artist Stromae. The clip was a hit and won best video at the Music Industry Awards and at the Red Bull Elektropedia Awards.

Lieven has also recently finished directing his debut feature film ‘Rookie’ starring Matteo Simoni and Veerle Baetens which was produced by CZAR. Its release was initially set for end of 2020, but has since been postponed to a later date due to the ongoing pandemic. 

Lieven has become such an appealing director in Belgium as well as internationally due to his immense knowledge and skill in telling visually compelling stories. His extraordinary multi-faceted craft is shown in his many successful films, as well as prestigious awards.