Dennis Heijn's novel Tegen de Stroom becomes a television series

Tegen de Stroom (against the current), Dennis Heijn's debut novel, is being adapted into a series. The book by the son of Ahold CEO Gerrit Jan Heijn was published last week. It is not yet known where the series will be shown. In Against the Current, four activist friends kidnap the teenage son of the CEO of an oil company. The foursome are trying to force the company to stop extracting fossil fuels.

The series is being developed based on the book, in collaboration with screenwriter Karin van der Meer (Nieuwe Buren). Aniëlle Webster (Swanenburg) will direct the series, reports production house Millstreet Films.

Dennis Heijn is the youngest son of former Ahold CEO Gerrit Jan Heijn, who was kidnapped and murdered in 1987 by Ferdi E.

"As the son of Gerrit Jan Heijn, Dennis is one of the few experts in the field of kidnapping cases," says producer Rachel van Bommel. "Like no other, he knows how to portray the position of the victim's family in his book in an empathetic and authentic way."

Heijn is happy that the book is being made into a film. "It is a dream to see my story, which focuses on feelings of powerlessness against saving the climate, being made into a high-quality film."