Films in production or post-production
Fragments from Heaven
Synopsis
The deserts of the east and the south of Morocco are famed for meteor showers. The arid lands are the perfect location to find these celestial stones. Fragments from Heaven tells the story of Mohamed, a nomad in his fifties who lives with his family in a tent in a remote area of the eastern Moroccan desert. In order to improve his family’s harsh living conditions, he decides to go searching for these objects. For him, they represent an opportunity to change his life, and that of his family, forever. The film also tells the story of Abderrahmane, a renowned Moroccan scientist. Meteorites further his research into the origins of Earth and of life itself. He believes the celestial detritus may reveal some answers to his existential questions. These men’s searches merge into a spiritual quest that echoes with those of everyone. The nomad and the scientist never cross paths in the film – it is the language of cinema that allows their connection.
Adnane Baraka
Karine Germain, Adnane Baraka
SENT
Mohamed Bakha, Abderrahman Ibhi
JPL productions (France)
Jean-Pierre Lagrange
Director’s statement
In Fragments from Heaven, I delve into questions of the origin of life. When it comes to this question, however, answers continually drift away into an abyss, always leaving behind a new enigma to be solved. For me, confronting these conundrums through a quest is an intimate way to exorcise the anguish they bring about. By wandering in search of meteorites in the company of nomads and a scientist, we grasp the meaning of the quest and that, in the end, it is the path that makes sense, not the destination. It is through cinema that this quest crystallises, by gathering the nomads and the scientist together with all of us. As well, cinema helps us to dig into emotion when the intellect is arid. For these reasons, for me this film is a journey during which I no longer force myself to find answers, which are unreachable. Nevertheless, I focus with gratitude on humans with all their complexities, while honouring what unites us with each other, with the Earth, and ultimately with the universe. It is all about diving into the world of the subtle to touch a chord of sensibility, and to transcend.
Biographies
An independent filmmaker born and living in Marrakech, Adnane Baraka studied Directing at the ESAV film school in Marrakech and graduated in 2011. In 2010, he directed his first short documentary, Talbanine, about a remote and isolated school in the mountains. In 2019, he completed his first full-length documentary, Wandering Stars, which was a portrait of three blind young Moroccans. Since 2014, Baraka has been working on the film Fragments from Heaven, which has been shot over several periods between 2017 and 2019. He is also a musician, conducting research into sound through the InCave and SENT projects.
Born in 1962 in Saint Etienne, Jean-Pierre Lagrange currently lives and works in Lyon, France. He worked as assistant director to Roger Planchon on Louis, the Child King in 1992. With this experience he became later in charge of the executive production of commercials and fiction films at Effectifilms. In 2006, he created JPL productions, which enabled him to produce short films and some forty documentaries for cinema and French television channels. He is a member of the association Lumière du monde, whose goal is the production and creation of documentaries by author-directors from Africa.
€161 800
€127 300
AFAC (production and postproduction), 2M, CNC, Région Rhône Alpes fund for production, Procirep-Angoa, LyonCapital Tv
Late 2017 to Late 2019, Morocco
Late spring 2021
Editing in process
Funds, co-producers, international broadcasters, distributors, sales agents
