The Dutch Heart Foundation is collaborating on the new VPRO TV series *Het Gordijnpaleis van Ollie Hartmoed*, directed by Norbert ter Hall and written by Robert Alberdingk Thijm. The family series is about a 9-year-old boy with an extraordinary family and a congenital heart defect. Ollie has an ASD (Atrial Septal Defect), a 'hole' in his heart that he discovers during the series.

The series unfolds the extraordinary story of Ollie's complicated family, who once owned the most beautiful shop in town: the Hartmoed Curtain Palace. By now, everyone in the family is at odds with one another, and Ollie has made it his mission to bring the family back together. During his mission, however, he discovers that he has a heart defect (ASD) and that this heart condition has run in the family for some time. Fortunately, medical advancements have advanced to the point where Ollie can be helped with a simple procedure. A small umbrella will be unfolded inside his heart. For Ollie, this is the best thing in the world: They are going to make a curtain inside his heart! It turns out Ollie's older half-brother also had a heart defect (ASD). At the time, surgery using an umbrella was not yet possible for him, so he underwent open-heart surgery.

The outlook for children with congenital heart defects is steadily improving. This is because scientific research has led to an increasing amount of knowledge about congenital heart defects, and surgical techniques and care for young patients have improved significantly. At the beginning of the 20th century, only 15% of babies with a congenital heart defect lived beyond the age of 20. Today, 85% reach adulthood. However, we are still far from knowing everything about congenital heart defects. That is why the Dutch Heart Foundation has been funding research in this field for many years.

Ollie Hartmoed is a production of Lemming Film and the VPRO. Directed by Norbert ter Hall, based on a screenplay by Robert Alberdingk Thijm. Featuring a star-studded cast including Susan Visser, Aart Staartjes, Gijs de Lange, Rick Paul van Mulligen, Kitty Courbois, Sebastiaan Labrie, Leontien Borsato, Bracha van Doesburg, Louis Talpe, and Teun Stokkel as Ollie.

The VPRO will broadcast the series weekly from December 10 at 7 PM on Nederland 3.



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