Since 2008, Razor Reel has been organizing the Razor Reel Flanders Film Fest annually.
As a Flemish genre film festival, the non-profit organization Razor Reel aims to introduce the genre film to a broad audience through a diverse and fantastic program, stimulate genre film culture and knowledge through focused programming, contribute to the promotion of genre films, provide a platform for emerging talent, and promote social cohesion.
The goal of the Razor Reel Flanders Film Fest is to spark and stimulate the imagination of the audience.
As a festival, we screen both current feature films and short films. For Razor Reel, it is not only important to show film premieres, but more importantly to provide a curated overview of the current state of genre film. Each year, we focus our programming on current genre film themes, film-producing countries that stand out for their genre film offerings, innovative genre film directors, and so forth. At the same time, we do not forget the history of genre films, which also receives attention in the programming.
Each edition, Razor Reel places special emphasis on certain program highlights. For example, Trash Mahal, a film program featuring genre films from South Asia.
Besides a carefully selected film program, the Razor Reel Flanders Film Fest is also the ideal place to honor people and films. As a member of the MIFF (Méliès International Festivals Federation), we organize the Méliès d’Argent competition each year, showcasing European short film talent. Our Young Blood competition focuses on emerging genre film talent.
The Audience Award gives the choice to the public and highlights the audience favorite. Internationally, our winners have gained strong recognition. In 2021, Razor Reel’s Méliès d’Argent winner Last Dance won the Méliès d’Or Award for Best European Short Film at Sitges. We also observe that many of our previous Young Blood winners are now building successful careers in the international genre film scene.
No film festival without guests. Since 2008, the festival has welcomed several international film guests, including Ben Wheatley, Martin Kemp, Robin Hardy, and Nicholas Vince. In 2021, a corona-proof solution was found to welcome Phil Tippett as a major international guest through a live Q&A Zoom session.
What is certain is that the Razor Reel Flanders Film Fest has long since secured its place in the international film landscape and continues to grow annually within Flanders. With over 40 feature film screenings and 35 short film screenings, Razor Reel offers an extensive genre film program each year.