Grind Reset Shine

Unsatisfied with his place in New York’s art scene, Artist Peter Bjorn relocates to Berlin in search of change. Meanwhile in a remote Polish village, Alicia prepares to become a nun but, feeling at home in nature, her reveries continually distract her from her religious path.

When Peter’s much anticipated Berlin debut is panned by critics, he flees to the Polish countryside where he overhears Alicia’s sweet voice in the woods. Both lost in their own ways, their friendship leads them to yet another new beginning.

Production Details

Year
2019

Length
92 minutes

Format
Color DCP 24FPS 5.1 Scope 2.39:1

Genre
Drama/ Hybrid

Director
Margarita Jimeno

Executive Producer
Andrew D. Corkin

Consultant Producer
Sol Bondy

Status
Completed

Country
USA/Poland/ Germany

Language
English and Polish with English Subtitles, Available with French and German Subtitles

Locations
Berlin, Paris, NYC, Polish Carpathian Mountains

Main Cast
Jens Louis Valeur-Jaques, Eva Moari, Rezeta Veliu, Felix Römer, David Olbrich, Hanna Konarowska

Production Company
Hoptza Films (US)

Co-production
ORKA Film (PL)

Distribution

Watch film on
iTunes
Amazon +
Kino Lorber
Streaming + International

Awards

2020
Best Soundtrack-Artists and Aliens Festival, Finland

2016
US In Progress, Paris Grand Jury Prize Winner

Film Festivals

2020
Artists and Aliens Festival, Finland

2019
Women Under The Influence Los Angeles (WUTY)

2019
Cinequest

2011
CPH:DOX Forum Pitch selection as Working title Otto My Life is a Soundtrack

Links

Letterboxd
IMDB
Instagram

Press

2023
10 films to watch in 2023, Monopol Magazin.

2019
Filmmaker Magazine
Mercury News
Sleek Magazine
Dig in Mag
Monopol Magazine print

2017
#40 of The 50 Most Anticipated American Films of 2017

2016
USIP prize *working title was ” Otto My Life is a Soundtrack*
Variety
Screen Daily

Press Quotes

“With Grind Reset Shine, Jimeno provides an offbeat filmic response to Sarah Thornton’s 2008 bestselling book Seven Days in the Art World – a timely, observational study of the artistic community’s profound ills. And yes, the improvised nature of the acting may fall flat at times, but it also endows the film with an authenticity that has become far too rare in contemporary cinema.

Most importantly, it is a film that cleverly navigates the ambiguous relationship between ambition and failure, hope and angst. Like a mise en abyme, it tells its own story: one of an unusual work on an existential journey through an increasingly defunct art world.”

Benoit Loiseau – SLEEK Magazine

Press

Streaming – Tipps. 10 Kunst-Filme, die sich im Januar lohnen – Monopol Magazine

The film shedding light on the existential struggles of Berlin’s art scene – Sleek Magazine

“Spontaneity is Very Much a Part of My Process”: Five Questions for Margarita Jimeno – Filmmaker Magazine

Cinequest. Music is key in "Grind Reset Shine" – Mercury News

Notes and Music

Shot primarily in Berlin and the Polish Carpathian Mountains, with short stops in New York and Paris, Grind Reset Shine is a hybrid fiction feature with a cast of both professional and first-time actors.

It features soundtrack music by Moon Duo, Marching band, and Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld (Arcade Fire) amongst others. All the classical music was recorded on location at the church with the Polish Choir Szczawnicki Chór Kameralny (who also play the nuns) and with celebrated English pipe organist James McVinnie.

Featuring art performances by Simone Forti, Charlemagne Palestine and Lilibeth Cuenca.

Behind the scenes music recording clip

Photos & Poster