Based on director Elliott Hasler’s own great-grandfather’s wartime experiences, WWII: The Long Road Home tells the remarkable true story of an escaped POW’s perilous journey across war-torn Italy as he fights to return to the family and country he left behind.
Made while Hasler was still at school, between the ages of 14 and 16, the film went on to achieve both UK and US distribution, reaching 16th on the UK DVD charts and earning a place among Sky Cinema’s Top 25. In 2024, the film was acquired by Paramount+ for streaming in the UK, France, and Italy.
Critics praised the film’s scale and ambition, with Culture Trip describing it as “a miracle achievement for a schoolboy director” and hailing Hasler as “the next Spielberg.”
