Joe is a Belgian director who studied at the animation department of K.A.S.K. in Ghent, Belgium.
After his studies, he began working as an animation director for commercials, but soon developed into a versatile, all-round director.
In 1999, he joined fellow director Koen Mortier to establish CZAR in Brussels, which quickly became one of the most creative production companies on the Belgian market.
Joe has directed films for international clients such as Amnesty International, Audi, Nike, UNICEF, and Volkswagen. His distinguished style and taste for the surreal earned him the CCB Film Director Award two years in a row. His spot T-man for Tiense Suiker (2012) melted hearts and won a string of awards: a Silver CCB Award for Direction, an Effie, the Topshot Award for Best Belgian TV Commercial, and a Bronze Lion for Animation at Cannes. He was also awarded a Silver Craft Lion at Cannes for Direction for his sexual abuse awareness film Innocence and Danger. His Ice Skating film for IKEA won a Silver for Best Film and a Bronze for Best Direction at Eurobest 2018.
Joe has a soft spot for music videos. He has directed for Belgian talent such as The Hickey Underworld, Balthazar, and Triggerfinger, as well as the international band Editors. His music clips have earned several international awards. Also he wrote and directed the short film Homesick for Belgian television.
Under the alias Lionel Goldstein, Joe directs films with Koen Mortier. Driven by their shared love of the absurd, they consistently push creative boundaries. Their work has earned widespread international acclaim, including five Gold Lions at Cannes—awarded for standout campaigns such as FRISK and XBOX (for Wieden+Kennedy London and BBH London, respectively), DEXIA Braille, Equal Pay Day Eternal Pregnancy, and most recently, Lynx The Robbery. In total, Lionel Goldstein has collected over 18 Cannes Lions as well as numerous other international awards for films such as Canal Digital, Hornbach, and Gent Filmfest 2023, to name a few.