As a (very) young man Michael R. Roskam was passionate about graphic novels, comic-strips and cinema. Inspired by the great Belgian tradition of comic-strip artists like Hergé, he decided to become a comic-strip artist himself and went to St-Lucas Academy of Fine Arts in Brussels. There he discovered painting and contemporary art. He graduated but also got involved into writing fiction - meanwhile keeping his passion for the image alive by drawing and experimenting with video. After several jobs as a journalist (@ De Morgen, newspaper) and a copywriter (@ Saatchi&Saatchi, advertising), he wrote a script for a short film. By directing this himself he returned to the roots of his creative urge: cinema. The result was his first short movie: "HAUN". He finally found out what he'd always been looking for: movement. Since then he worked as a moviemaker. "CARLO" (prod. CCCP), his second short, won several prizes at national and international festivals and was shown on different tv-channels and movie theatres in Europe. His third short "THE ONE THING TO DO" (prod. CCCP) premiered in December 2005 at the Leuven International Shortfilm Festival were the film won the Audience Award. In November 2007 he went to L.A. to shoot TODAY IS FRIDAY (prod. SAVAGE FILM/M. ROSKAM), a short film based on an Ernest Hemingway story.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- October 9, 1972 (54)
- Belgium
- Director, writer and producer
- 5 on Motif · 12 credits in all
What are Michaël R. Roskam's films like?
Across their 5 Motif titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Morality and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 4
Light 0 · Serious 1 · Dark 3
Grounded 4 · Stylized 0 · Heightened 0
Gentle 0 · Charged 1 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 3 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 2 · Relentless 0
Casual 0 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 4
Resolved 0 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Michaël R. Roskam's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 3 of their 5 Motif titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Tubi (2).
Subscription and free streaming for Michaël R. Roskam's titles on Motif; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 5 with a Motif page.
Le Faux Soir (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2026)
Black Bird(2022)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all shows
Lockdown (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2021)
Een verkeerde toekomst (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2019)
Racer and the Jailbird(2017)
Midcredits score: 47th percentile of all films
The Ardennes(2015)
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
The Drop(2014)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
Bullhead(2011)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all films
The One Thing to Do (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2005)
Carlo (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2004)
Haun! (not in the Motif catalog yet)(2002)
Untitled Sylvia Kristel Biopic (not in the Motif catalog yet)
Career shape
A full career of 11 titles, 9 of them dated from 2002 to 2022.
How do Michaël R. Roskam's films land?
Their typical Motif film has a Midcredits score in the 76th percentile, the median of all 4; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 72nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up3
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th1
Shape of the crowd
None of their 5 titles divides audiences: 4 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved1
- Crowd Pleaser4
Reviewers score the atmosphere 76/100 and the pacing 43/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on Motif; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their Motif titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Michaël R. Roskam's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 Motif titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Michaël R. Roskam work with?
People who share at least 2 of Michaël R. Roskam's Motif titles, grouped by what they did on them; Matthias Schoenaerts shares the most, 3.
Actors
- Matthias SchoenaertsShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Drop (2014), Bullhead (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Matthias Schoenaerts
- Sam LouwyckShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Ardennes (2015), Bullhead (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Sam Louwyck
- Jeroen PercevalShared titles: The Ardennes (2015), Bullhead (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Jeroen Perceval
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Alain DessauvageShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Ardennes (2015), Bullhead (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Alain Dessauvage
- Nicolas KarakatsanisShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Drop (2014), Bullhead (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Nicolas Karakatsanis
- Raf KeunenShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Drop (2014), Bullhead (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Raf Keunen
Producers
- Bart Van LangendonckShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Ardennes (2015), Bullhead (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Bart Van Langendonck
- Peter BouckaertShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Ardennes (2015), Bullhead (2011)See all 3 shared titles with Peter Bouckaert
- Xavier RombautShared titles: Racer and the Jailbird (2017), The Ardennes (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Xavier Rombaut
