Photo by De Auteursbond
On December 1, Kim van Kooten was awarded the Kees Holierhoek Screenplay Prize – a €15,000 industry award for the best Dutch-language TV drama series screenplay. Her work on THE TERRIBLE EIGHTIES, a VPRO series that aired in 2022 and was produced by Topkapi Series, stood out among Dutch-language dramas premiered in 2021 and 2022.
The jury praised Van Kooten’s original and daring adaptation of director Tim Kamps’ novel, highlighting the series’ seamless blend of humor and drama.
‘Van Kooten lets her characters, both children and adults, explore the boundaries between their dreams and ideals and everyday reality. The series demonstrates narrative expertise: characters with whom the viewer can laugh and cry; a voiceover that works (!!!), with a heartbreaking twist that we won’t spoil here.’
THE TERRIBLE EIGHTIES depicts a vibrant tale of a blended family in an eighties commune.
The Kees Holierhoek Screenplay Prize, established in 1993, is the premier award for TV drama series in the Dutch-speaking region, recognizing outstanding screenwriting every two years.