Rendezvous in Samarkand

Director Tim Bridwell debuts with this far-flung travel drama. Randall (John Littlefield) is a bumptious American with a plan to smuggle a truck from Morocco to Nigeria. Along the way, he takes not only his girlfriend Cecile (Marie Ravel) but also two Japanese hitchhikers, Atsuko (Tsuyu Shimizu) and the cancer-stricken Yumi (Miho Nikaido). Amid the dunes of the Sahara, things go from bad to worse, leading up to the film’s emotional climax. Rendezvous in Samarkand was screened at the L.A./AFI Film Festival.