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Underwater Dreams - The Movie
About the Film
Underwater Dreams, written and directed by Mary
Mazzio, and narrated by Michael Peña, is an epic story of how the sons of
undocumented Mexican immigrants learned how to build an underwater robot from
Home Depot parts. And defeat engineering powerhouse MIT in the process.
This is how it transpired. Two energetic high school science teachers,
on a whim, decided to enter their high school, a Title I school where most of
the students live in poverty, into a sophisticated underwater robotics
competition sponsored by the NASA and the Office of Naval Research, among
others. Only four boys signed up for the competition, but once assembled, with
enthusiasm and verve, they started calling oceanic engineers and military
contractors for design help. They were advised that their underwater robot would
require glass syntactic flotation foam. Short on money, all they could afford
was PVC pipe from Home Depot. And some duct tape.
After a few test runs
of their robot (aptly named Stinky), the team was confident that they would not
come in last at the event, so they all piled into a beat up van to head to the
competition. The boys entered the main pool area, seeing college teams in
matching gear, with robots sponsored by the likes of Exxon Mobil. Feeling a bit
overwhelmed, the boys put Stinky in the water for a test run. Only the PVC did
not hold up. The robot leaked. And sunk.
The boys put their heads
together and hilariously came up with a brilliant solution. 12 hours later,
armed with 8 super-plus tampons to plug the leak in Stinky’s mechanical housing,
the robot was lowered into the pool again. Only this time, Stinky performed
admirably.
Fast forward to a shocking result. This rag-tag high school
team of undocumented Mexican boys did what no one thought possible. The
competition, however, was only the beginning. These boys forged a legacy that
could not have been imagined.
Narrated by Michael Pena. Written and
Directed by Mary Mazzio. Funded by the Bezos Family Foundation and the Laurie M.
Tisch Illumination Fund, with additional support from Babson College, the
Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust and others. Executive Producers: Michael
Peña, Laurie Tisch, Jackie Bezos, Mike Bezos, John H. Carlson, Hope Pascucci,
Mike Pascucci, Jeb Bush, Jr., Stephanie Hunt, Hunter Hunt, Christine Vachon,
Sanjay Rawal, and Sarah Lenti.
SEPTEMBER 11, 2014 – SAN JOSE, CA –
CENTURY 20 OAKRIDGE
AMC screening hosted for the community with
Telemundo/NBCUniversal
SEPTEMBER 12, 2014 – SAN JOSE, CA – AMC EASTRIDGE
MALL
AMC screening hosted by Carolyn Clark Elementary
SEPTEMBER 13,
2014 – BRANDON, FL – AMC REGENCY 20
AMC screening hosted by the Young
American Dreamers
SEPTEMBER 16, 2014 – GLENDALE, AZ – AMC WESTGATE
20
AMC screening hosted by the Maltese Falcons and Agua Fria High
School
SEPTEMBER 17, 2014 – TUCSON, AZ – TUCSON FOOTHILLS AMC 15
AMC
screening hosted by the Jewish Relations Community Council
SEPTEMBER 18,
2014 – WASHINGTON, DC
Hispanic Heritage Foundation Awards – Kennedy
Center
SEPTEMBER 18, 2014 – San antonio, TX
Film screening at Voto
Latino’s Power Summit.
SEPTEMBER 22, 2014 – MILWAUKEE, WI – AMC MAYFAIR
MALL 18
AMC screening hosted by St. Paul’s Robotics
SEPTEMBER 23, 2014
– HONOLULU, HI
Film screening at the Honolulu Museum of Art – Human Rights
Showcase
SEPTEMBER 23, 2014 – Philadelphia, PA
Film screening hosted
by Comcast
SEPTEMBER 24, 2014 – LOS ANGELES, CA – UNIVERSAL CITY
WALK
AMC screening hosted by the Los Angeles Education Partnership
Showcase
More Dates and Locations...
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