Tim Oliehoek was born in 1979 and attended the Dutch Film and Television Academy after having shot his first feature-length action movie, Buy or Die, at 18. He graduated in 2001 with the film Isabelle, based on the acclaimed novel by Dutch author Tessa de Loo. In 2002 he directed The Champ, which was nominated for a Student Academy Award for Best Foreign Film. He has directed numerous commercials and short films, and his television film 15 35 Spoor 1 was nominated for the Prix d’Italia. In 2005 he directed his feature debut Vet Hard (Too Fat Too Furious). In 2009 his second feature film Spion Van Oranje (Spy of the Queen) was released in Dutch theaters, followed by Pizzamaffia (2011), Chez Nous (Queen of Amsterdam, 2013) and his first family film, The Amazing Wiplala (2014), based on the book by famous Dutch writer Annie MG Schmidt.