The 2026 London Australian Film Festival draws to a close with the UK Premiere of ALPHABET LANE, the wonderful debut feature from writer-director James Litchfield, this year’s winner of LAFF’s Cris Jones Debut Director Prize, which honours outstanding debut features by Australian filmmakers. 

This darkly funny thriller follows Anna (Tilda Cobham-Hervey: 52 Tuesdays, I Am Woman) and Jack (Nicholas Denton: Glitch, Dangerous Liaisons), a young couple who have recently moved to the country. With the reality of their new situation failing to live up to their expectations, they invent imaginary neighbours to cope with their growing loneliness. As letters begin to arrive from their new friends, what started out as a joke soon comes to take over their entire relationship.

Beautifully shot in Southern NSW, with a majestic score by Mark Bradshaw (Top of the Lake) - including humming by Paddington himself, Ben Whishaw - ALPHABET LANE is an offbeat exploration of isolation, creativity and the mysteries of love that is modest, worldly and sophisticated all at the same time. Safe to say that this is unlike any Australian film you have seen.

We will be joined by key members of the cast and crew for this closing gala screening, and while writer-director James Litchfield cannot join us, he will be awarded the Cris Jones Debut Director Prize, which honours outstanding Australian feature debuts.

Presented in honour of British-Australian filmmaker Cris Jones, whose debut The Death and Life of Otto Bloom closed our inaugural festival in 2017, previous debut feature nominees have included Imogen McCluskey (Suburban Wildlife, LAFF 2019), Jub Clerc (Sweet As, LAFF 2023), Mark Leonard Winter (The Rooster, LAFF 2024), and David Vincent-Smith (He Ain’t Heavy, LAFF 2025).

The feature will also be preceded by a short film from the Australian Film Television and Radio School.

The 2026 London Australian Film Festival runs from 16-19 July at Finsbury Park Picturehouse.

Aussie snacks, sweets & gifts will be on sale in the foyer throughout the festival, with a raffle taking place before every screening. 

With thanks to Lucinda Reynolds and Joe Films.

REVIEWS:

“Alphabet Lane blends genres as well as emotional registers, always with a gentle twang – sometimes quietly uplifting, sometimes quietly unsettling, and always with an undercurrent of melancholy.” - Luke Buckmaster, The Guardian

“Litchfield’s film is playful, even as it confronts a vital and weighty subject…the type of bold swing that perhaps only a first-time filmmaker would take.” – Sarah Ward, Screen Hub