Telemundo to Present Documentary UNDERWATER DREAMS, 7/20

As part of NBCUniversal's Hispanic Enterprises and Content's nationwide pro-social campaign Aprender es Triunfar, Telemundo will broadcast "Underwater Dreams" on Sunday, July 20th at 1 p.m. EST/ 12 p.m. CST. The documentary film by award-winning filmmaker Mary Mazzio and narrated by actor Michael Peña and Guad Venegas for Spanish-language television, chronicles the compelling and inspirational story of four teenage boys, the sons of Mexican immigrants, who entered a sophisticated underwater robotics competition, going up against the likes of engineering powerhouse MIT.

Watch trailer here

The film will be a central pillar of NBCUniversal Hispanic Enterprises and Content's nationwide pro-social campaign, Aprender es Triunfar, aimed at closing the Latino student achievement gap, especially in STEM education. In support of reaching many Latino families with this inspirational message, AMC Theatres will be hosting up to 100 community screenings, free of charge, at AMCs across the U.S. to enable school and non-profit groups to enjoy the film on the big screen this summer and fall. On July 20, 2014, MSNBC and Telemundo will simultaneously broadcast a special television version of Underwater Dreams (in both English and Spanish) and mun2 will broadcast it the following day (Monday, July 21st at 12 p.m. EST/11 a.m. CST).

Story Summary:

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 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. Twelve hours later, armed with eight 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. A legacy of aspiration, activism and dreamers.