RENDEZVOUS IN SAMARKAND New Directions

Randall, an insolent, rich American, is attempting to smuggle a 4×4 vehicle across the Sahara Desert, in a failed attempt to impress his French girlfriend, Cecile. Along the way, they pick up two enigmatic female Japanese hitchhikers, who are not told the reason for Randall and Cecile’s trip. But the hitchhikers have a secret of their own to guard. Together, they speed toward a physical destination and a metaphysical rendezvous.

Contrasting the intimacies of relationships and individual desires against vast desert landscapes, director Tim Bridwell intertwines characters and destinies in a personal film about the strange, unpredictable workings of fate.