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Australian gang film returns to cinemas after brawls
2009-03-02
SYDNEY (AFP) - A film about Lebanese Australian gangs pulled from cinemas in Sydney after brawls broke out will be screened with extra security guards to prevent further trouble, its distributor said Tuesday. Australia's biggest cinema chain, Greater Union, withdrew "The Combination" from theatres in Australia's largest city because violence flared among patrons at two cinemas, the Australian Film Syndicate (AFS) said. The movie, set amid race riots that rocked Sydney four years ago, sparked fights last week that left one security guard hospitalised, Greater Union said. An AFS spokeswomen said Greater Union agreed to resume screenings on Wednesday provided additional security guards were on hand. Greater Union said the film's director, George Basha, would also address patrons prior to selected screenings at the group's Parramatta cinema, in Sydney's western suburbs. "Further events that threaten the safety and security of our patrons or our staff will not be accepted and further action may follow," Greater Union said in a statement. AFS described the ban as unprecedented when it was announced last weekend, saying all those involved in making the film were "devastated" by the move. The critically-acclaimed film, which began screening last Thursday, examines tensions between gangs of Lebanese Australian and white youths in Sydney's western suburbs. It is set in late 2005, when ugly race riots between white and Lebanese Australians flared at the city's Cronulla Beach, sparking a series of retaliatory attacks in which churches, shops and cars were trashed. The movie uses actual news footage from the riots as it follows the fortunes of a Lebanese Australian man, recently released from prison, who is trying to steer his younger brother away from ethnic gang violence. AFS has compared it to "Romper Stomper", a 1992 movie about warring gangs of skinheads and Vietnamese migrants in Melbourne that first brought Oscar-winner Russell Crowe to the attention of critics. The ban is the second controversy to hit "The Combination" after one of its lead actors, Ali Haider, 19, was jailed for seven months late last month over a street brawl.
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