In Sean Decker’s short film, Rendezvous, Sarah Nicklin plays a car thief who is also a well-known Hollywood actress. The authorities suspect she is the head of a luxury car ring operating out of Little Tokyo. With her identity exposed in the local papers and her cover blown, she narrowly escapes in a souped-up car in the warehouse. Instantly, she sparks a high-speed chase through the streets of Downtown Los Angeles, with sirens and helicopters closing in on her every move. The cops are no match for Nicklin. At sunrise, she finds herself alone on Route 66, racing toward one final job before crossing the border in Mexico.
Rendezvous focuses on creating the look and feel of a high-speed car chase unique to Los Angeles. He describes Rendezvous as a raw, adrenaline-driven ride that fuses noir storytelling with guerrilla filmmaking. Filmmaker Decker found inspiration in Claude Lelouch’s 1976 cult film; he wanted audiences to feel trapped in the chase alongside the protagonist, with Los Angeles itself acting as both stage and antagonist.
“She narrowly escapes from a warehouse in a souped-up car.”
To achieve this, Decker shot guerrilla-style with no permits and under a $4,000 budget. Working with cinematographers Will Barratt, Richard Trejo, and Ryan Valdez, the team used handheld and mounted shots in real traffic, relying on natural light and stripped-down production to capture the city’s unpredictability and grit.
Rendezvous isn’t perfect, but it looks like a $20,000 short. It’s a good-looking film with a lot of moxie. All films should be shot in L.A. and without filing for a single permit. It’s a beautiful city and lends itself to Decker’s noir story. The focus of the film is all in the shot composition to tell the story. You don’t actually have to race at high speeds down Grand or Flower, but with a little movie magic, you can—and you should.
For more information, visit the Rendezvous Instagram account.
"…relying on natural light and stripped-down production to capture the city’s unpredictability and grit..."
