Tim Oliehoek (1979) is a director of feature films, tv-series and commercials. He received two Golden Calves for Best Television Drama (the Dutch equivalent of the Academy Award) for ‘The Menten Case‘ and ‘The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen‘.
Tim attended the Netherlands Film Academy when he was only 18 years of age. His thesis project ‘Isabelle’ was nominated for a Tuschinski Award and won a Student Award at the USA Film Festival. As a follow up, Tim directed ‘The Champ’ which was nominated for a Student Academy Award (presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences).
In 2005 Tim directed his feature film debut ‘Too fat too Furious‘ (Dutch title: Vet Hard) which was a commercial and critical success, followed by the feature films ‘PizzaMaffia‘ (2011) and ‘Queen of Amsterdam‘ (2013). In the Netherlands better known as ‘Chez Nous’.
His first family movie ‘The Amazing Wipala‘ (2014), based on the book of acclaimed author Annie M.G. Schmidt, was embraced by many film critics. Among many awards it received the Golden Audience Award at the Mill Valley Film Festival in California.
In 2016 Tim directed a three-part television miniseries ‘The Menten Case’. The story took place in the 30’s, 40’s and 70’s. The show received a very positive response from TV critics and reached more than 1 million viewers per episode. The series won a Golden Calf, a Dutch TV-Award, a Director’s NL Award, a Nipkow nomination, a BANFF Rockie Award in Canada, and was the Dutch entry for the International Emmy Awards of 2017.
In 2017 and 2019, Oliehoek directed 2 seasons of the TV series ‘The Secret Diary of Hendrik Groen’. This 24 part tv-series was viewed by over 2 million viewers per episode and was the best viewed tv-show since 2011 in the Netherlands. The series won 2 Golden Calves and a Zilveren Krulstaart.
In 2019 and 2021 Tim directed the TV series ‘Stanley’ and ‘Homefront‘, both shows were based on true events.
In 2023 Tim directed the first season of ‘Arcadia’. This international TV series is set in the near future, where a citizen score is introduced. We follow the life of a law-abiding family. Everything changes when the father of the family is deported from Arcadia to the outside world. This international production is a collaboration between three European public broadcasters: the Flemish VRT (Eén) and the Dutch NPO (KRO-NCRV), with the German ARD (WDR and SWR) as co-producers. The series was embraced by many film critics and reached over 1 million viewers per episode in Flanders. Arcadia was nominated for a European television award at the Festival de la Fiction TV in La Rochelle.
In 2024, Tim completed his sixth feature film, ‘The Balloonist‘. This is the first Dutch Disney+ Original film for the international streaming platform. The film is a tragicomedy about Gaby, a heritage chicken farmer, whose life is turned upside down when an arrogant hot-air balloon pilot crashes into her chicken coop. The film was produced by Elbe Stevens Films and written by award-winning novelist Benny Lindelauf. ‘The Balloonist’ premiered on Disney+ on October 3, 2025. And during the Netherlands Film Festival, the film was nominated for three Golden Calves.
In 2024, filming began for the new eight-part drama series ‘Rust en Vreugd’ (‘Peace and Joy’), about life in a community garden complex of the same name. The story centers on Emma, a city woman who discovers after the death of her husband Thomas that he had signed up for a plot at the Rust en Vreugd gardens. To cope with her grief, she decides to take the garden after all. She soon learns that the complex is anything but peaceful and joyful. The lead roles are played by Annet Malherbe, Jaap Spijkers, and Arjan Ederveen. The series is produced by Lemming Film. The screenplay was written by Tamara Bos, based on the book by Hendrik Groen. The drama series will air from March 2026 on Omroep MAX on NPO 1.
