Hidden Figures

Hidden Figures

Sloan Foundation Film

Release Date

2017

Director

  • Theodore Melfi

Cast

  • Taraji P. Henson
  • Octavia Spencer
  • Janelle Monáe

Awards

  • San Francisco Film Society: Science in Cinema Prize, 2016

A team of African American women provide NASA with important mathematical data needed to launch the program's first successful space missions.

As the United States raced against Russia to put a man in space, three brilliant African American women at NASA — Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) — became the brains behind one of the greatest operations in history: the launch of astronaut John Glenn (Glen Powell) into orbit, a stunning achievement that restored the nation's confidence, turned around the Space Race, and captivated the world.

Possible Topics

  • Women in science

Past Programs

2017

Women in Science and the Arts

Athens Ciné, Athens, GA

Plants in Space

Athena Cinema, Athens, OH

The Gender Gap: Then and Now

Martha's Vineyard Film Society, Tisbury, MA

Women in STEM: Past, Present, and Future

Belcourt Theatre, Nashville, TN

The Role of African American Women in the Space Program

Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, MA

The Future of Women in STEM

Cameo Cinema, St Helena, CA

Safe and Autonomous Aircraft Systems

Michigan Theater, Ann Arbor, MI

Orbiting Intersectionality

Pickford Film Center, Bellingham, WA

Breaking Barriers: Women in Space

The Grand Cinema, Tacoma, WA

A Giant Leap for Humankind

Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT

Science! It's Not Just a School Subject

Olympia Film Society, Olympia, WA

The challenges facing female scientists

Egyptian Theatre, Coos Bay, OR

2018

The evolution of computing technologies

The State Theatre, Modesto, CA

2019