(Theodore Melfi, US 2016, 127 min., DCP)
On the evening before honoring Octavia Spencer with the George Eastman Award, the Dryden Theatre will host a special screening of Hidden Figures. A conversation with Ms. Spencer will precede the screening.
“This is about inventing the math, because without that, we’re not going anywhere.” Throughout the history of NASA, mathematical computations were done by “computers,” people with the know-how to make sure the numbers were correct, including the West Area Computers, Black women segregated from the rest of the facility. The film follows three of these women: Dorothy Vaughn (Octavia Spencer), who was instrumental in integrating the new IBM machines in the facility; Katherine Goble (Taraji P. Henson), who devised and confirmed many of the calculations necessary for spaceflight; and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe), who blazed her own trail as an engineer. Detailing the racism and sexism these three women needed to overcome just to contribute to the Space Race, this is a touching, inspirational story for everyone, earning Spencer her second Academy Award nomination.
Limited tickets available!
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