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World War II: The Long Road Home
World War II: The Long Road Home “A young soldier leaves his family to
  fight in the Second World War where he
  falls into enemy hands, becoming a
  prisoner of war during which time Italy
  changes allegiance from Germany and
  he is freed; but he is in mortal danger
  as he makes his way across the country
  during the German invasion as former
  POWs are rounded up and Italians
  punished for aiding them in World War II:
  The Long Road Home...”

HAVING MARRIED HIS SWEETHEART Ivy (Alice Rogers), known as "Tuppence" or "Tup", railway signalman Charles "Charlie" Standing (Elliott Hasler) joins the Royal Hampshire Infantry Regiment of the British Army during World War II.

His distraught wife and young son are left behind in Brighton, West Sussex, England, to wait for him with the optimistic thought that he would be home by Christmas. It is not to be so, and Tup is upset as she does not want her child to be brought up without a father as Charlie was.

“Fascinating and
compelling and deeply poignant as it is a true story, World War II:
The Long Road Home
is an exceptional film;
all the more
commendable as it was
written by director
Elliott Hasler at the age
of fourteen...”
In his unit Charlie meets Private Andy Grimes (David Aitchinson), who is very critical of the way the war is going and seems often to be in trouble.

They set off for Sidi Nsir in Tunisia in the Spring of 1943 and, while taking part in a special mission, Charlie is captured by the Italians. He becomes a prisoner of war at the Capua camp in the Mediterranean.

Despite a difficult time with little food, Charlie accepts his incarceration and when Italy changes sides he finds himself free to set off across the country in the belief that the British are due to land in Rome and Milan.

The Germans invade and begin to round up the freed prisoners of war and take their revenge on the Italian people who help them but Charlie finds help from brave Italians and the Resistance. Hiding in a cave, he is discovered by a German whom he is reluctantly forced to kill. In a poignant moment, he is upset to discover that, like him, the German had a wife and family.

Keeping to the forest and making his way across the snow-covered mountains, Charlie has to keep one step ahead of the enemy, unsure of whom he can trust.

It is the beginning of his long walk home to his wife and son Terry (Javier DeFreitas) in England and safety. A gruelling journey that sees him overcome many challenges with the uncertainty of not knowing if he will ever see his home and his family again. Tup fears the worst when his letters stop coming and faces temptation from a handsome Canadian airman.

Fascinating and compelling and deeply poignant as it is a true story, World War II: The Long Road Home is an exceptional film; all the more commendable as it was written by Elliott Hasler at just fourteen years old. This self-financed, low-budget feature (originally known as Charlie's Letters), made with the help of his friends and family, was completed by the time he was sixteen and subsequently screened as World War II: The Long Road Home at Edinburgh, Brighton and Berlin Festivals.

World War II: The Long Road Home also features: Owen Oldroyd as Sgt John Milton; Eamonn Breen as Major Lawford; Bob Bliss as George Kelly; Irene Weaver as Jenny Kelly; Megan Hefferman as Dolly; Matthew Davies as Captain Wilkinson; Simon Hasler as Raphael Caprino; Mike Skinner as Captain Edward Thompson; Peter Walsh as Michael Romero; David Hasler as Giovanni; Glenys Ebeaz as Ivy Standing in 1990 and Luigi Patti as Aldo Manicci.

Original Soundtrack Written, Performed and Produced by Jamie Scarratt; Guitars by Doug Scarratt; Director of Photography is Elliott Hasler; Produced by Simon Hasler; and Written and Directed by Elliott Hasler.

* The feature debut of Britain's youngest film director, World War II: The Long Road Home is released through 101 Films International in the UK on DVD and Digital on 26 October 2020. Available from Asda, Tesco and Morrisons; on Sky Store, iTunes, Amazon and HMV. Certificate: 15 | Running Time: 90 Minutes.

"Fascinating and compelling and deeply poignant as it is a true story, World War II: The Long Road Home is an exceptional film; all the more commendable as it was written by Elliott Hasler at just fourteen years old" — **** Maggie Woods, MotorBar

"…what a phenomenal achievement Charlie's Letters is for a schoolboy director! Aside from Hasler's ambition, the most exciting aspect of his film is his ability to tell a story visually without over-reliance on talk. Five years from now, he could be a world-beater" — Culture Trip

AN UNDERGRADUATE AT EXETER University and now Brighton-based, Elliott Hasler is passionate about his art.

"I first became inspired to make films when I was about ten. There was a school project where there was a week without lessons and instead we made a film. That was really my first experience making a movie and the work that goes into it and I just fell in love.

"I then started making little films on my own which gradually grew bigger and better and at fourteen I decided I'd make a feature. I've never been to film school but making World War II: The Long Road Home was very much my film school. The three years I spent working on that film taught me invaluable lessons about the movie-making process across all aspects, from scripting to directing to editing.

"Obviously it is an on-going learning and adapting process with each movie made, moving you up to another level of understanding and skill. These are the aspects of film making I relish and motivate me to move forward with ever-more projects."

Elliott Hasler followed World War II: The Long Road Home with a number of short films and is now filming his second feature, Vindication Swim, a biopic of the first British woman to swim the English Channel, Mercedes Gleitze, also from Brighton. She is seen as a forgotten heroine and Elliott plans to screen the film in Cannes in 2022.

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