Home By Christmas A Finalist in Prestigious International Competition

Posted Tuesday 11 Jan 2011

At the History Makers Awards in New York on the 27th January, Gaylene Preston's feature film Home By Christmas will be in auspicious company alongside a selection of the strongest historical film and television storytelling made last year from all over the world.

Selected as a finalist in Best Historical Drama, Home By Christmas is one of five finalist nominations competing with productions from PBS USA, the ABC and Channel 4 U.K.  It's the first New Zealand film to gain a finalist nomination at History Makers, which is the leading global annual gathering of history makers in film and television.

Director/Writer/Producer Gaylene Preston will attend the awards ceremony.  She said, "I am absolutely thrilled that Home By Christmas has been nominated. Just being there will be a real honour."

This is the second international finalist nomination for the film, which won a High Commendation at the recent Asia Pacific screen awards for actor Tony Barry, who also won Best Actor at the Qantas NZ Film Awards.

"After a successful theatrical release here, an audience award at the Sydney Film Festival and warm response at the London Film Festival, HOME BY CHRISTMAS is becoming 'the little film that could!' " says Preston, who made the film about her parents' experiences during World War Two.