BOTS HIGH plays Sunday, 4/17 at Regal Winter Park Village, at noon, as part of the 20th Annual Florida Film Festival. [details]
You guys, I really enjoyed this. It’s a documentary about high school students who build fighting robots. “It’s like a nerd’s version of going to a football game”, says Danielle, a Catholic schoolgirl and member of team My Mechanical Romance, of the competitions. The doc is really charming, and it’s great to see (a) students who clearly aren’t jocks but still have something to do afterschool that they’re super passionate about, (b) that is very social and collaborative, as opposed to just playing Xbox, (c) that involves tutelage and guidance from excellent staff advisors and mentors, and (d) where being brainy is an asset rather than an embarrassment. Seeing these kids welding, using circular saws, and speaking about engineering, made me feel very dumb and unaccomplished. And I have a graduate degree!
The film follows a few teams from South Florida as they compete first locally, and then in the national robotics competition. A lot of the action takes place at Starbot – an organization in Miami whose goal is “to get students interested in engineering”; a place where kids can go after school and work on their robots. That is so friggin’ cool. Though there is some interesting character stuff – friendly rivalries between the teams, possible flirtation and romance between some of the subjects – the main thrill here is watching the robots smash each other up. They have names like Fluffy, El Cholo, Famous Last Words, and Lil Kanye (because he’ll never let you finish), and they’re often equipped with axes, electrical charges, or scary looking buzz saws. There are some spectacular collisions and one incredible incidence of “Holy crap, that robot is on fire.”
Whenever you hear about education, especially here in Florida, it’s always doom and gloom and cuts and doom and gloom. It was inspiring, therefore, to see a film where smart kids were allowed to use their smartness for something exciting and explosive. ‘Bots High’ is funny, interesting, and by the climactic battle in the national contest, you’ll find yourself really rooting for some of the teams. This thing is only playing once at the Festival, so book your tickets soon.
By Samir Mathur
Contributing writer
You guys, I really enjoyed this. It’s a documentary about high school students who build fighting robots. “It’s like a nerd’s version of going to a football game”, says Danielle, a Catholic schoolgirl and member of team My Mechanical Romance, of the competitions. The doc is really charming, and it’s great to see (a) students who clearly aren’t jocks but still have something to do afterschool that they’re super passionate about, (b) that is very social and collaborative, as opposed to just playing Xbox, (c) that involves tutelage and guidance from excellent staff advisors and mentors, and (d) where being brainy is an asset rather than an embarrassment. Seeing these kids welding, using circular saws, and speaking about engineering, made me feel very dumb and unaccomplished. And I have a graduate degree!
The film follows a few teams from South Florida as they compete first locally, and then in the national robotics competition. A lot of the action takes place at Starbot – an organization in Miami whose goal is “to get students interested in engineering”; a place where kids can go after school and work on their robots. That is so friggin’ cool. Though there is some interesting character stuff – friendly rivalries between the teams, possible flirtation and romance between some of the subjects – the main thrill here is watching the robots smash each other up. They have names like Fluffy, El Cholo, Famous Last Words, and Lil Kanye (because he’ll never let you finish), and they’re often equipped with axes, electrical charges, or scary looking buzz saws. There are some spectacular collisions and one incredible incidence of “Holy crap, that robot is on fire.”
Whenever you hear about education, especially here in Florida, it’s always doom and gloom and cuts and doom and gloom. It was inspiring, therefore, to see a film where smart kids were allowed to use their smartness for something exciting and explosive. ‘Bots High’ is funny, interesting, and by the climactic battle in the national contest, you’ll find yourself really rooting for some of the teams. This thing is only playing once at the Festival, so book your tickets soon.