Sydneysiders Valerio De Simoni, Kris 'Ted' Davant and Jamie Kenyon wanted to do something remarkable in the years after graduating from high school.
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Simoni → want → school
Deciding to cross three continents on bulky quad bikes, raising money for Oxfam's battle against global poverty, their Guinness World Record-breaking attempt was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime.
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attempt → decide → lifetime
And it was, but disaster struck, and De Simoni never made it home.
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Simoni → strike → it
Bittersweet Italian Film Festival highlight Sand Roads follows their ill-fated voyage of discovery.
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highlight → follow → discovery
It began in Istanbul, where the young men crossed the continent-spanning Bosphorus Bridge from Asia into Europe and then on to Africa.
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men → begin → Africa
"Every day we woke up, it was something completely different," Davant says.
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Davant → wake → ?
"It was a rite of passage, and so many people helped us along that road."
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people → help → road
They'd often pinch themselves.
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They → pinch → themselves
"One night we were camped under the stars in the middle of the Maasai Mara with a tribal leader," Davant recalls.
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Davant → camp → leader
"We were just absorbing it, open to whatever happens.
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whatever → absorb → it
Whether it's the culture or the landscape, you're laughing, or you're dealing with your next challenge."
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you → laugh → challenge
"These are basically farm bikes, and they're really slow, doing around 70kms an hour," Davant says, grinning.
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Davant → do → 70kms
"We took them across three continents, 37 countries and 60,000 kilometres.
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We → take → continents
They're sturdy, but they're not really designed for that."
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they → design → that
Centurion's return
Directed by Lorenzo Conte and Gabriele Gianni, Sand Roads combines the lads' extensive camcorder footage with De Simoni's diary entries and new interviews with his mum, Vittoria Pasquini, alongside Kenyon and Davant.
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Roads → direct → Kenyon
When De Simoni's cruel and senseless death comes, your heart breaks for Kenyon and Davant, dealing with the aftermath.
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heart → come → aftermath
"Of course it's sad, when you look back at the footage," Davant tells ABC Arts.
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Davant → look → Arts
"But the memories are also amazing, looking back at us laughing with Valerio again.
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us → look → Valerio
It's like going back into a time capsule.
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It → go → capsule
"
One of the most affecting moments comes when the boys ride into Rome and De Simoni, born in Sydney, bursts with pride at catching up with his mum's family.
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Simoni → come → family
"At that moment, we were having a bit of a chuckle, because he's talking about him being like a Roman centurion coming home," Davant says.
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Davant → have → centurion
But seeing that footage again and reflecting on it now, you realise that it just meant so much to him.
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it → see → him
She travelled the world with De Simoni's father before settling in Australia at 37.
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She → travel → 37
"Being an Italian-Australian, Valerio went through different phases," she recalls.
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she → go → phases
"At first, he spoke only Italian.
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he → speak → Italian
Then, when he went to school, he started speaking only English.
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he → go → English
"But he went to Italy in 2001, the year AS Roma won the Scudetto [Italian soccer league], and at that point he became Italian again, including dressing like one."
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he → go → one
Ms Pasquini notes that that dual identity came through in De Simoni's diary, which she says is alive with his words in both languages.
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she → note → languages
It was discovered amongst De Simoni's things, with the family later publishing it as a travelogue.
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family → discover → travelogue
His thoughts are adopted as Sand Roads' narration, including his musings on his father, who also died young, at 35.
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who → adopt → 35
"His dad was an important part of Valerio's journey," Ms Pasquini says.
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Pasquini → say → journey
"He remembers him vividly in his diary, writing about being a Leo, then meeting lions and recalling that his father lived in Nairobi and saw them as well.
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father → remember → them
De Simoni died while Ms Pasquini was on the plane, racing to be by his side in Africa, but she says she knew he'd gone before she landed and received the terrible news.
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she → die → news
Watching the footage of the trip gave Ms Pasquini a visceral feeling of being there with her son.
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Watching → watch → son
"They used the camera as if it was a fourth person travelling with them," she says.
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she → use → them
She's eternally grateful to Davant and Kenyon for their enduring friendship, following De Simoni's death.
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She → endure → death
"We decided to get together regularly, having pasta together every two or three weeks," she says.
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she → decide → pasta
"Sometimes there were tears, but it was a beautiful healing process for the three of us."
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it → be → us
Davant and Kenyon, and many of De Simoni's mates, aided Ms Pasquini in establishing the Valerio Daniel De Simoni Association, honouring his charitable spirit by supporting refugees and First Nations youth.
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Davant → aid → refugees
"I've tried to carry on his legacy," she says.
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she → try → legacy
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia