Among the new friends we’ve made who live locally are Anousha Zarkesh and David Field. Anousha is a casting director while David is an actor I’ve admired for a long time – since I saw him working with Don Mamouney at Sidetrack Theatre in the ’80s when the Marrickville company was redefining Australian community theatre.

David has since become a stalwart of theatre, Australian film and TV, from his film debut in Nick Cave’s 1988 film Ghosts of the Civil Dead through Blackrock (1997), Two Hands (1999) and Chopper (2000) and more recently the cold case police TV series Blackjack. Most people who’ve watched Australian TV or films in the last 20 years would recognise him.

But David has another string to his bow – he’s about to release his first film as director. The Combination is a street gang drama set among Sydney’s Lebanese community, and is set for a 26 February start in cinemas.

Take a look at the trailer.