Official

Selection
2020

POLAR STAR FILMS & PRIMO present

THE SECRET OF
DOCTOR GRINBERG
A film by IDA CUÉLLAR
 POLAR STAR FILMS & PRIMO present

THE SECRET OF
DOCTOR GRINBERG A film by IDA CUÉLLAR

“Everything possible to be believed is an image of truth.”

William Blake
I NT R O DU C TION

“It’s likely we’ll never know what happened to him. Nor whether his disappearance was down to dea-
th or a kind of transition to another dimension: small enigmas in a bigger mystery. But his experiments
continue to be carried out all over. It is enough to sit down and meditate, in order to ratify, empirically
and objectively, that reality is much more mysterious and extraordinary than science, our minds or our
perceptions assert. So in homage to Grinberg, wherever he is: there are many different worlds within
this one.”

Fernando Solana, The Grinberg Enigma

THE SECRET OF DOCTOR GRINBERG has elements of a thriller, following a renewed search for the exceptio-
nal Mexican scientist Dr. Jacobo Grinberg, who disappeared in the mid 90s. Through the film’s investigation we
unearth the peculiarities of this still unsolved case and the meet the enigmatic characters who define it.

Who exactly was the mysterious healer Doña Pachita? How much influence did the famous anthropologist
and so-called wizard Carlos Castaneda really have? What did Commander Padilla discover during his time on
the Grinberg case? Were Teresa Mendoza’s intentions as sinister as they appear? What secrets were hidden by
Grinberg himself and what clues did he leave for us in his books?

Are we truly at the gates of a new way of looking at the world, on the frontier of a new kind of science that could
transform the way we understand man and the universe? Or rather, are we faced with a fantastical and paranoid
plot, a relentless farce of unprecedented dimensions?
S INO PS IS

Doctor Jacobo Grinberg is one of the most fascinating characters in recent Mexican history. Considered by
many as the “Einstein of consciousness” Grinberg pushed the traditional boundaries of science in an attempt
to better understand the potential of the human brain. Serious and meticulous, he held a prestigious position as
director of a high tech laboratory at UNAM. There he and his team investigated and conducted experiments, until
Grinberg claimed he could demonstrate the first steps of telepathy.

It was during this time, in 1994 and at the height of his career, that Jacobo Grinberg mysteriously disappeared.
The strange circumstances surrounding his sudden disappearance have given rise to multiple theories which
continue to obscure the real version of events. Dr. Grinberg was no ordinary scientist. As well as carrying out ex-
periments in his laboratory, he had a personal obsession with explaining, scientifically, the mysterious practices of
shamanism in Mexico. This fascination led him to interact with magical and inexplicable worlds, something which
ultimately coloured his legacy and gave a legend like quality to his disappearance. Following the police inquiry of
Commander Clemente Padilla, a well regarded officer who took the lead in the Grinberg case, this documentary
reconstructs the surprising real facts behind this still unsolved mystery.

Through testimony from Grinberg´s family members, colleagues and friends, we learn that the Doctor had many
different sides. Suspicions of a crime of passion, that slowly reveal a potential kidnapping, the theft of valuable
information and questionable interests from government forces, this metaphysical thriller spans multiple countries
and nearly a decades worth of investigation. In the search for the whereabouts of this enigmatic Mexican scholar,
we are really searching for THE SECRET OF DOCTOR GRINBERG.
D I R E CT OR’ S N O TE

When I arrived in Mexico for the first time in 2010, I coud hardly have imagined the impact of my trip. One
morning, in the mountains of Tepotzlán, in Morelos, I was told the story of a Mexican scientist who had de-
monstrated the workings of telepathy, who studied the brains of yogis and shamans and who had assisted
Pachita, a famous healer who operated on patients using a hunting knife. I was told that this scientist had
disappeared in the 90s, most likely kidnapped by NASA, the CIA or another similiar organisation. He was
Jacobo Grinberg, a name I had never heard before. As I listened with intrigue, I opened my bag to retrieve
a small book of poems I had bought the previous evening. To my utter surprise the book’s author was the
very same character whose story I was listening to, Dr. Jacobo Grinberg.

This was very same Doctor. A strange and mysterious coincidence. I knew instantly that a film had to
be made about this mystery, why had he really disappeared and to where?. After six months I returned to
Mexico and began contacting Grinberg´s family, colleagues and friends.To my surprise they readily coo-
perated, even displaying some urgency in their need to talk about the Doctor. It was as if a gag had been
released from their mouths and they were finally free.

This story has captivated me for almost a decade now, during which time, following clues linked to Grin-
berg’s disappearance, I have discovered an extraordinary character; the author of almost 40 books, that
hide within their pages a secret that could help to change our vision of the world. Bit by bit, I began to see
that perhaps the secret of Dr. Grinberg was the real key to his mysterious disappearance.
I N T E RVI EW EES

Sperry Andrews Founder, Human Connection Institute

Sam Quiñones Journalist, Los Angeles Times
Tony Karam President, Casa Tibet Mexico
Estusha Grinberg Daughter of Jacobo Grinberg
Jerry Grinberg Brother of Jacobo Grinberg
Ruth Cerezo Assistant to Doctor Grinberg
Lizette Arditti Ex-wife of Jacobo Grinberg
Juan José Sánchez Sosa Director of the Faculty of Psychology, National Autonomous University
of Mexico
Ivanov Marmolejo Interviewed Commander Padilla in 2003
Clemente Padilla Chief Superindendent on the Grinberg case
Tere Vale Journalist
Esperanza Medium
Hilda Ettermang Cousin of Jacobo Grinberg
José Colastra Doctor in of Natural and Bioenergetic Medicine
Jose Rubinstein Friend of Jacobo Grinberg
Ramón Mansilla Last assistant to Pachita
Patrick Harpur Writer and philosopher
David Grinberg Brother of Jacobo Grinberg
Fernando Solana Author of the article “El Enigma Grinberg”
Amit Goswami Doctor in Quantum Physics
Leah Bella Assistant to Doctor Grinberg
D I RE C T O R’ S B I O G R A PH Y

Ida Cuéllar is a filmmaker and musician who lives between Barcelona and Mexico City. He has worked across
the globe as a director and script-writer. His work in advertising has obtained numerous prizes including at Can-
nes, San Sebastian, FIAP and “El Ojo de Iberamérica”, among others.

Ida has directed various short films, including; THE DEATH OF OTILIA RUIZ (2011) and the experimental fashion
film PHASMATA (2014), selected by a large number of international festivals. Ida also directed the pilot episode
of MAGNUM OPUS (2016) with James Cosmos, Arly Jover, Timothy Gibbs, Jamie Anderson and Sam Douglas.

Ida studied Astrology at the Cosmograma School in Barcelona, and has been practicing tarot for over 15 years.
His interest in the arts is of a symbolic and esoteric nature and in his work he explores the depths of the imagi-
nation and consciousness. It is from this basis and with nearly a decade’s worth of investigation that his latest
work, THE SECRET OF DOCTOR GRINBERG, evolved. This is Ida´s first feature documentary, investigating the
mysterious disappearance of Dr. Grinberg, a pioneering neurophysiologist working in the field of telepathy, whose
unresolved case has become one of the most enigmatic stories in recent Mexican history.

F I L MO GRAPHY ( ex. Spot s an d v i deocl i ps )

•R H YT H M H D C AM – Sh ort , 16 mm/ 2002
•M Y T H S – S h o rt , 16 mm/20 0 4
•T H E D E AT H OF O T I L I A R U I S – Shor t, 35m m / 2011
•P H A S M ATA – Sh o rt , 35 mm/20 1 4
• TH E S E C R E T O F DOCT O R GR I N B ERG – D ocum entar y Feature / 2020
TE CH N IC AL S P EC I F I C AT I O NS

TH E SE C R ET OF DOCTOR G RIN BE RG
Documentary Feature / 91’ Colour / 2020

Director Ida Cuéllar

Script Ida Cuéllar, Miguel León, Juan Muñoz-Tébar, Fernanda Rossi
Production Carles Brugueras, Marieke van den Bersselaar, Ida Cuéllar, Inés Massa
Cinematography Jose Luis Bernal (AEC)
Editors Judith Miralles, Gabriela Soria, Carlos Rufete
Sound Laia Casanovas
Music Eduardo Pacheco
P ROD U C TI O N
C O MPA NI ES A SELECTION OF RECENT
TITLES INCLUDE
•ME LLAMO VIOLETA directed by Marc Pa-
rramon and David Fernández de Castro (2019)

•TIME THIEVES directed by Cosima Dannorit-

Polar Star Films is an in-
dependent production
company founded in
1997 by Carles Brugueras. Thanks to it’s interdisipli-
nary team, Polar Star Films has produced fiction feature
and short films and is specialised in innovative feature
documentaries for international audiences. Polar Star
Films has co-produced with channels such as, ARTE,
BBC, SWR / NDR, France Télevisions, Al Jazeera, TVE
and TVC.
www.polarstarfilms.com
zer (2018)
•IDRISSA, CHRONICLE OF AN ORDINARY
DEATH directed by Xavier Artigas and Xapo
Ortega (2018)
•FACING THE WIND directed by Meritxell
Colell (2017)
•FREIGHTENED - THE REAL PRICE OF SHI-
PPING directed by Denis Delestrac (2016)
•FALCIANI’S LIST directed by Ben Lewis
(2015)

•GOOGLE AND THE WORLD BRAIN directed

by Ben Lewis (2013)
 A SELECTION OF RECENT
PRIMO is an TITLES INCLUDE
a w a rd - w i n n i n g •A GIRL IN A FORTRESS directed by Erik
Morales (2019)
independent pro-
duction company which has focused primarily on pro- •OUT THERE directed by Nicolás Pérez Veiga
(2017)
ducing advertising projects and music videos. It has
recently opened a film and television division, with the
aim of developing, producing and financing indepen-
dent, high-quality films: short films and feature films,
both fiction and documentary. With offices in Argentina,
Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Spain, Primo works interna-
tionally with a single objective: to create author driven
content for worldwide audiences.

www.primocontent.com
 PRIM O
Inés Massa
imassa@primocontent.com
+ 34 646755543

POLA R STA R F IL M S
Marieke van den Bersselaar
marieke@polarstarfilms.com
+34 609741915
+34 932004777

POLAR STAR FILMS & PRIMO present

THE SECRET OF
DOCTOR GRINBERG
A film by IDA CUÉLLAR