Guess which 'race'?
From the BBC.
A film set during the race riots that hit Australia four years ago has been pulled from cinemas in Sydney after fights broke out during screenings.
"The Combination" centres on tensions between gangs of Australian Lebanese and white youths in Sydney's western suburbs in 2005. It was pulled by one of Australia's cinema chains, Greater Union, after violence flared outside two cinemas. The Australian Film Syndicate (AFS) called the move "unprecedented".
Greater Union said it had cancelled screenings of the film in all four of its Sydney cinemas after violent incidents in its suburban Parramatta cinema on Thursday and Saturday nights. "Maintaining the safety and security of our staff and patrons is our main concern and priority," Greater Union general manager Robert Flynn said in a statement.
AFS managing director Allanah Zitserman said Greater Union's decision to pull the critically-acclaimed film was "devastating for everyone involved, especially for the audiences". She said in a statement: "Although we do not support the decision by Greater Union to pull the film from its NSW sites we respect and understand their position."
The film can still be seen at other cinema chains in New South Wales state, as well as cinemas in other Australian cities.
The excuses are already being made - mustn't alarm the sheeple, after all... The manager has never pulled a film before -although, he has pulled them from cinemas in the middle East. And now the movie is about 'gangs'. Wasn't I just wondering out loud why the religion o'peace seems to just be made up of mobbed up thugs? Gah! Assaults not linked to 'gang film'.
The cinema chain alleges a security guard was assaulted in Parramatta on Thursday after asking a patron to put out his cigarette during a screening.
Security at the complex was doubled to eight the following day, but an usher was assaulted as a fight broke out during the film's credits on Saturday night.
"It's very, very disappointing for me," the film's writer and lead, George Basha, said yesterday. "It doesn't glorify violence … The film is about love. It's about choices. It's about family. It's about honour."
Greater Union's general manager of operations, Robert Flynn, could not recall another instance where a film has been pulled in Australia because of violence at a cinema. "I ran our Middle East operations for six years," he said. "And I have pulled films in the Middle East."
Last night, the company was unable to articulate what exactly concerned them about the film - whether its content was believed to have incited the violence, or whether it was drawing an audience predisposed to violence.
"It was a decision by management based on our staff," Mr Flynn said.
"At this stage we have merely suspended the screenings until we can actually get a debrief from all staff involved. I'm standing with one now and I'm looking at his swollen jaw."
Police said the film did not cause the violence. There was nothing in the incident reports to suggest it did. No one has been cautioned or charged.
"The alleged incidents do not seem to be the result of any film," a spokesman said last night. "Police attended a minute [after the brawl was reported] with no sign of anyone fighting. There were just people leaving."
