Film: Old Heart

A Theater De Schalm Exclusive:  Old Heart European Premiere September 20, 2025. 

This special event featuring the film’s costars Edward Gaines and Amsterdam’s Eva Doueri honors the  World War 2 black liberators who helped set the Netherlands free. A post screening conversation with a historian highlights this award winning feature set largely in Veldhoven.  Filmed on location in Brabant and Michigan, the movie is adapted from the Peter Ferry novel.

Learn more at oldheartmovie.com and rogerrapoport.com/blacktheater.

The Story:

In this timely film based focused on humanitarian relief, Private Tom Johnson teams up with Dutch translator Sarah van Praag to help smuggle food and supplies to starving people in the north trapped behind German lines during the Hunger Winter of 1944-45. Their romance falls apart and sixty years later he returns to the Netherlands to reconnect with the love of his life.  Old Heart's release coincides with the 80th anniversary of European World War 2 liberation.