Fragments From Heaven

Adnane Baraka  |  Documentary Film  |  2018  |  Morocco
The Moroccan desert has recently seen several large meteor showers and its arid land is the perfect place to find celestial rocks. When a meteor penetrates the atmosphere, looking like a huge blue and orange ball, it instantly turns red as it hits the ground with a thunderbolt blinding light. Not long after that, hundreds of people – men, women, and children – rush to the site in four-wheel drives, on motorcycles or by foot, trying to be the first to arrive on site. Then begins a frantic search for the meteorite fragments hidden among the desert rocks. Deep inside, everybody hopes to be the first to find a meteorite. Soon the collectors and scientists join them; working with the nomads, they help identify the type and value of each discovery. The meteorite fragments are traded locally and nationally, and some of them are even auctioned internationally. The purchase of these meteorites is not only limited to scientific research; private collectors are ready to offer an exorbitant sum of money to acquire them.