Sydney Opera House Launches New Australian Cinema Series With ‘Alphabet Lane’
The Sydney Opera House has launched a new regular cinema series dedicated to showcasing Australian filmmaking, with independent thriller Alphabet Lane becoming the first feature presented under the initiative.
The new program officially launched Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Opera House’s Playhouse, with a screening of the film followed by a Q&A with director James Litchfield and producer Lucinda Reynolds.
Described by the Opera House as a regular platform for new and recent Australian films, the initiative creates another prominent exhibition space for locally made cinema at one of the country’s most recognisable cultural institutions.
Its inaugural selection, Alphabet Lane, is the feature directorial debut of Litchfield and stars Tilda Cobham-Hervey and Nicholas Denton.
Shot on a family cattle farm in the Monaro region of New South Wales, the darkly comic thriller follows Anna and Jack, a young couple attempting a tree-change after relocating to the country.
As the reality of their isolated new life begins to fall short of expectations, the pair invent a collection of imaginary neighbours to alleviate their loneliness.
The joke takes a darker turn when letters apparently written by their fictional neighbours begin arriving, gradually consuming the couple’s relationship and blurring the boundaries between their imagined community and reality.
The film’s selection also places an independently produced regional Australian story at the centre of the Opera House’s latest cinema initiative.
Cobham-Hervey has established herself as one of Australia’s prominent young screen performers through projects including I Am Woman, in which she portrayed Australian singer Helen Reddy, and Hotel Mumbai. Denton’s credits include Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and the Starz period drama Dangerous Liaisons.
For Australian filmmakers, the launch comes amid an increasingly complicated theatrical landscape, particularly for independent productions competing for screen space and attention alongside major international releases and streaming platforms.
The Opera House’s decision to establish an ongoing platform for Australian cinema therefore gives locally produced films another avenue to reach audiences beyond traditional commercial exhibition.
It also expands the venue’s existing film programming, which has included retrospectives, international cinema and special screenings alongside its better-known theatre, music and live performance program.
Following Saturday’s screening, Litchfield and Reynolds joined a Q&A moderated by Matthew Donlan to discuss the making of the film.
Further titles set to screen as part of the new Australian cinema series have yet to be announced.
But with Alphabet Lane, the Sydney Opera House has put a regional NSW production at the front of a new commitment to bringing Australian filmmaking onto one of the country’s most prominent cultural stages.