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Robot Builders Doc Bots High: Mad Hot Ballroom with Nerds

by Jacob Combs | July 13, 2011 10:44 AM
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Thompson on Hollywood
Bots High is a film that proudly declares its geekiness, which is a promising sign for a documentary that follows three groups of high school robotics students as they develop and (literally) battle their way to a national combat robots competition in Miami. Basically, it's Mad Hot Ballroom with nerds.

Lest you think this is a niche film destined to play small, though, director/producer Joey Daoud has a different distribution plan for getting his project to a larger audience.

Daoud is inviting anyone anywhere to host or join a free screening of Bots High on October 6th in any venue. After the screening, Daoud and the robot builders themselves, many of whom went on to engineering programs at schools like MIT and Duke, will be available for a live Q & A session. (Trailer below.)

This viral distribution method isn't just about publicity for Daoud, it's also about reaching as many members of America's next generation of scientific thinkers. It's no secret that the United States is trailing the rest of the world in terms of math and science (and facing a dramatic gender gap in which male engineers far outnumber their female counterparts). Daoud sees robotics programs as a way to get kids interested and inspired by science and engineering. Bots High and its free screening are about spreading that gospel.

Bots High - High School Robotics Documentary - Official Trailer from Coffee and Celluloid on Vimeo.

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