Arabic version: «طرق الرمال» يوثق رحلة الأصدقاء القياسية والفقد

According to ABC News, documentary Sand Roads follows Sydneysiders Valerio De Simoni, Kris “Ted” Davant and Jamie Kenyon as their Guinness World Record attempt to cross three continents on quad bikes turned into a journey marked by disaster and enduring friendship. The trio set out after high school to raise money for Oxfam’s work against global poverty, but De Simoni did not make it home.

Directed by Lorenzo Conte and Gabriele Gianni, the film combines extensive camcorder material from the trip with De Simoni’s diary entries and new interviews with his mother, Vittoria Pasquini, Kenyon and Davant. The journey began in Istanbul, where the men crossed the Bosphorus Bridge from Asia into Europe before continuing to Africa. Davant said the route brought constantly changing experiences and help from many people.

The riders took farm-style quad bikes through 37 countries over 60,000 kilometres, Davant said. The machines could travel at around 70 kilometres an hour, but were not designed for such a journey. Alongside mechanical breakdowns, the friends faced tensions during the trip. Footage includes their arrival in Rome, where De Simoni, who was born in Sydney, reunited with his mother’s family and expressed pride in his Italian heritage.

Pasquini said her son’s diary moved between Italian and English and included reflections on his father, who had also died young. After De Simoni’s death, Davant and Kenyon stayed close to Pasquini, regularly sharing pasta together as part of what she described as a healing process. They and De Simoni’s friends helped establish the Valerio Daniel De Simoni Association, supporting refugees and First Nations youth.

Davant and Kenyon later completed the record attempt in De Simoni’s honour, fulfilling a promise they had made when the journey began. Sand Roads screens at the Italian Film Festival.