Artists and athletes know that feeling when every move seems right. They call it "being in the zone."
Twin Cities filmmaker Joe Brandmeier found his zone in an unexpected spot: the tiny Minnesota town of Greenbush, population 719.
Brandmeier was inspired after reading a Star Tribune story about the champion robotics team of Greenbush Middle River High School, a David that regularly slays Goliath.
"Two days later, I was in a car filled with camera equipment, heading north," he said. "I'm telling you, it's never happened that way before. Some sort of spiritual energy was pulling me to do this."
Seventy days of creative fever later, he completed a documentary short, "Small Town Robot," that chronicles the team's trip to the world championship in Detroit, where it would compete in an arena full of screaming fans against more than 300 teams from around the world.
The film will have its premiere at 6:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Roso Theater in Roseau, Minn.
Brandmeier's film is a warm, inspiring look at how this team — a collection of self-admitted geeks — has brought the town together. In a community where the only grocery store may soon be closing, their success means more than it might in a bustling Twin Cities suburb.
From the old guys at the American Legion hall who have raised thousands of dollars to bankroll the team's travels, to the farmers who donate livestock for meat raffles, Brandmeier paints a picture of a small town brimming with pride for its overachieving kids.
