!Aitsa

The ancient knowledge of indigenous peoples challenges high-tech science in a near-cosmic tale from a South African desert where the world’s largest radio telescope is being built with antennae aimed at the far corners of the universe.

The Karoo is a vast desert area in South Africa the size of Germany. It is home to dinosaur fossils and large mysterious rocks with traces of our most ancient ancestors. The area is so pristine that in 2018 a giant radio telescope began construction here because there was no electronic noise to interfere with the telescope. It will consist of hundreds of huge white parabolic antennae and be so powerful it will be almost divine, looking back in time to when the first galaxies formed and perhaps enabling modern scientists to understand the origins of the universe. But what does it do to the indigenous people who have inhabited the area since time immemorial and are deeply connected to the pristine land? And how does modern science relate to their deep knowledge of the place and its history? Director Dane Dodds listens to all in a near-cosmic tale in the grand cinematic format of what happens when ancient spiritual knowledge and high-tech research must be united in finding meaning in the infinite darkness that surrounds us all.

Director: Dane Dodds