However, Parramatta's Lebanese-born Lord Mayor Tony Issa, one of those who attended a preview of The Combination at the theatrette in State Parliament House on November25, says the film is an accurate portrayal of life in parts of western Sydney.

''It's nailed the problems we see in society every day right on the head,'' Cr Issa said.

The script for The Combination was written by George Basha, a Lebanese man who grew up in Guildford and who, between stints as a tradesman, has had minor acting roles in other Australian films including Blackrock.

From that experience Mr Basha met Australian actor David Field, who collaborated with him over six years and has made a credible debut as a director in The Combination.

The title is a play on words based on the combinations boxers use. Part of the film is set in a boxing gymnasium.

The storyline sees Mr Basha's character John, a Lebanese-Australian, released from jail to find his school-aged younger brother Charlie (Firass Dirani) caught up in the same web of crime, including assaults and drug-dealing, that put him behind bars.

The settings are real, South Granville High School (Mr Basha's old school), the streets of Guildford and Parramatta and other locations that will be familiar to local audiences.

The characters are also ''real'', some of the younger actors being literally talent-spotted off the streets of western Sydney.

Even local Granville MP and housing minister David Borger, who was a runaway during his troubled youth, makes a brief and convincing appearance as a maths teacher.

The film's subject matter is raw, particularly where the racial tension between the Lebanese and Asian schoolboys and their ''Aussie'' counterparts rears its head.

Perhaps to emphasise the point, albeit fleetingly, TV footage of the Cronulla riots is incorporated.

The love interest between Mr Basha's character and Anglo-Australian girl Sidney (Clare Bowen) with her disapproving parents reinforces evidence of the racial divide. One of the film's many classy performances comes from Doris Younane (McLeod's Daughters) who plays John and Charlie's mother Mary with at times heart-wrenching sensitivity.

The essence of The Combination is encapsulated in Mr Basha's own words: ''A world away, streets apart.''