Shine Movie

Shine, winner of the audience award for best feature at the 2017 Urbanworld Film Festival, is a story about family, community, culture, and standing up for what you believe in.

Shine is the story of brothers, Ralphi and Junior, celebrated Spanish Harlem salsa dancers. Once close, a devastating tragedy creates a deep divide between them that alters their relationship and futures.

In the wake of the tragedy, Ralphi finds himself haunted by regret and guilt and attempts to flee his past, leaving behind everything he’s ever known including his brother, the girl he loves, and his culture.

After an absence of 7 years, a very different Ralphi reluctantly returns to his old neighborhood in an attempt to broker a commercial real estate deal. This Ralphi has traded the vibrant colors of Spanish Harlem for the sterile white of the corporate world and his salsa shoes for a suite and tie.

Back in New York, Ralphi is reunited with his brother, only to find that time does not heal all wounds and that the two are on opposing sides of gentrification. Junior, who followed in his father’s footsteps, has become an elite salsa dancer and an activist determined to preserve his community.

In addition to facing his past in order to succeed in the present, Ralphi must confront his bosses who are aggressively pursuing a lucrative development deal regardless of who is caught in the crossfire. One of those people is Josie, Raphi’s first love, who now owns the dance studio the brothers grew up in. Ralphi’s bosses need that property in order to secure their project, but the community is not going down without a fight!

Junior rallies local dancers in an effort to raise funds and awareness and save not only the studio but the heart of his community.

Will Ralphi risk the life he’s worked so hard to build to reconnect with his brother and to protect his community? Can salsa dancers and an impoverished community successfully take on a multi-million dollar international corporation? Find out when you see the Shine movie in theaters now!

Shine is a Forgiven Films movie, a division of GVN Releasing. Produced by 13 Paces in association with The Exchange, Sugar Studios LA, and Varona Productions.