Some irony from down under:

A film about Lebanese Australian gangs set amid race riots that rocked Sydney four years ago has been pulled from cinemas in the city after brawls broke out at screenings, its distributor said on Sunday.

Apparently the distributor has withdrawn the movie, “The Combination” after patrons duked it out at the screening.

The critically-acclaimed film, which began screening at Greater Union cinemas last Thursday, examines tensions between gangs of Lebanese Australian and white youths in Sydney’s western suburbs.

The Australian-Lebanese combination seems to still be volatile. There were also signs pointing to trouble early on:

The ban is the second controversy to hit “The Combination” after it was revealed in January that one of the lead actors, Ali Haider, 19, was facing assault charges over a street brawl and had been in custody since November.

I guess when you don’t get your way, you resort to violence to protect your dignity and rights. There’s no place like home!

Update – March 2, 2009: Cinema chain lifts Sydney ban on gang movie
Update – March 3, 2009: Australian cinemas increase security for race movie