<p><b>“A classic New Zealand story, perfectly told.” - <i>New Zealand Herald</i></b></p><p>On his way home from rugby practice, Ed Preston joined the New Zealand army. He promised his pregnant wife Tui he'd be home by Christmas - but four years would pass before his return, after escaping a prison camp in Italy.</p><p>A film memoir based on filmmaker Gaylene Preston's interviews with her father about his World War II experiences, <i>Home by Christmas </i>weaves imagined drama with archival footage to tell a New Zealand wartime story from both her parents' points of view.</p><p>“I grew up after the war and when I was a little girl it felt like there were always three times: there was ‘before the War' and ‘after the War' and there was another time that was almost like a secret place called ‘during the War'.” - filmmaker Gaylene Preston</p>