In his first feature-length work, Moroccan filmmaker Adnane Baraka presents a documentary that explores our shared fascination for the mysteries of the cosmos and the primal urgency to live.
Fragments from Heaven, which is screening at the Amman International Film Festival, begins with an astronomical event that took place in eastern Morocco a decade ago. The event is described by Mohamed Oubakha, a nomadic shepherd in his 50s – and one one the film's protagonists – as “blue fire” breaking over the Moroccan desert before colliding with Earth with a horrific rumble.
The blue fire, as it turns out, was a meteor believed to be from Mars, its fragments strewn across the flat desert.
The fragments, given their scientific value, are valuable. For Oubakha and many of the nomads in the eastern region of Morocco, they may be a life-changing find, especially necessary given the increasing aridity of the area – a possible byproduct of climate change – which has caused shrubs to dry, leaving less food for cattle.
As such, Oubakha decides to leave his family, joining a group of other nomads in an expedition to find the "precious stones". Their journey is a trying one. The group will spend weeks sauntering across the flat desert, surveying the ground in wandering gazes, barely blinking and “searching until I forget what I am searching for”.
Besides Oubakha, Fragments from Heaven also centres on Abderrahmane Ibhi, a scientist and university professor researching meteorites for clues about the origins of life. The stones are believed to contain organic compounds that suggest life may have emerged on Mars hundreds of millions of years ago.
“It was a radical choice and a risk,” Baraka says. “We have two characters, two different universes, and they never meet. What was a more interesting link was the quest itself.”
Baraka says the two figures – Ibhi and Oubakha – are looking for the same object, though for different reasons. While the former is driven by hopes of scientific advancement, Oubakha’s quest for the meteorite fragments is aimed at providing a better life for his family.
The same goes for many of the nomads striving to find the promising bits of stone. “One wants to get married or to build a house. Another wants to change his life and go to live in a village, not just in a tent in the middle of nowhere. They are simple dreams projected on to a stone.”
Baraka can’t quite pinpoint the film’s genesis, but says he’s been infatuated by the meteorite ever since hearing about it through Moroccan media. Meteorites frequently fall over the Moroccan desert, he says, but the one in 2013 particularly caught the attention of the public, as a single gram of the stone would sell for $1,000.
“People who found one or two kilos became rich,” he says. “That’s why it was famous, and more people became interested in finding them.”
Many came from across the world to Morocco with the aim of finding these stones, Baraka says, but the Amazigh who lived in those areas seemed to have an instinctive notion of where to look for them, perhaps because they were more familiar with the terrain.
It was the Amazigh nomads that Baraka wanted to feature in his film. The filmmaker describes his time with Oubakha and his family as “magical”, adding that they seemed undeterred by the presence of his camera. Baraka spent extended periods of time with them. He would take several trips from Marrakesh to the eastern region of Morocco, where he would spend weeks or even months at a time with the family and venturing out with Oubakha on his quest.
Fragments from Heaven was not a straightforward endeavour. The film has been more than eight years in the making, in large part due to the scarcity of initial funding. However, as Baraka made headway, and his vision for Fragments For Heaven solidified, he managed to secure funding from several established bodies, including Arab Fund for Arts and Culture and the Red Sea Fund.
“It was a strange and experimental process,” he says. “It began with the writing. I wrote sequences, imagined sequences, because documentary-making is not merely a slave of reality, but also provoking reality to happen.”
One example of this provocation is how Baraka wanted to present death – because he found it to be a necessary juxtaposition with the film’s allusions to primordial life. It was one of the earliest themes that Baraka had written for the documentary, and yet it wasn’t until the tail-end of the filming project that Baraka found a way to visually encapsulate death.
He would not have been able to find it had he not expressed his vision with Oubakha and his son. “During the shoot, I was focusing on something else with Oubakha, and suddenly his son comes up to me and tells me one of their sheep died yesterday.”
The sheep had trailed away from the herd, and after becoming lost, had died and was eaten by wild dogs. The cadaver is seen in the film as nothing more than a pile of wool and bones. The scene is a potent reminder of how absolutely the elements and cycle of life reign in the desert expanse.
There is a little dialogue in Fragments from Heaven, but despite the prolonged moments of silence – or maybe because of it – the film becomes a riveting watch that reels viewers with its tableaux-esque visual compositions and the sounds of the desert – the wind buffeting against Baraka’s microphone and the crackle of sand and stone.
Between the sprawling scenes of Morocco’s desert and the close-up portraits of Oubakha, his family, and the nomads searching for meteorites with a trance-like persistence, Fragments From Heaven manages to become, much like the subjects and themes it examines, timeless.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
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Pearls on a Branch: Oral Tales
Najlaa Khoury, Archipelago Books
Mountain%20Boy
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 325bhp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh359,000
On sale: now
Copa del Rey
Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)
Venue: Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Date: Sunday, November 25
Western Region Asia Cup T20 Qualifier
Sun Feb 23 – Thu Feb 27, Al Amerat, Oman
The two finalists advance to the Asia qualifier in Malaysia in August
Group A
Bahrain, Maldives, Oman, Qatar
Group B
UAE, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia
UAE group fixtures
Sunday Feb 23, 9.30am, v Iran
Monday Feb 25, 1pm, v Kuwait
Tuesday Feb 26, 9.30am, v Saudi
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza, Rohan Mustafa, Alishan Sharafu, Ansh Tandon, Vriitya Aravind, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmed, Karthik Meiyappan, Basil Hameed, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Ayaz, Zahoor Khan, Chirag Suri, Sultan Ahmed
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The details
Colette
Director: Wash Westmoreland
Starring: Keira Knightley, Dominic West
Our take: 3/5
Dubai World Cup draw
1. Gunnevera
2. Capezzano
3. North America
4. Audible
5. Seeking The Soul
6. Pavel
7. Gronkowski
8. Axelrod
9. New Trails
10. Yoshida
11. K T Brave
12. Thunder Snow
13. Dolkong
Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
The%20Beekeeper
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km
Price: from Dh94,900
On sale: now
Anxiety and work stress major factors
Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.
A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.
Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.
One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.
It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."
Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.
“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi.
“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."
Daniel Bardsley
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Red Joan
Director: Trevor Nunn
Starring: Judi Dench, Sophie Cookson, Tereza Srbova
Rating: 3/5 stars
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
