Series/Themes: The Black Experience, zFrom Page to Screen, zRace in America, zSocial & Political Issues, zSpecial Guests

Genre: Drama, Family

Film Year: 2016

Locations: USA

Film Length: 127 min.

Director: Theodore Melfi

Featuring: Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Mahershala Ali, Jim Parsons.

Nominated for three Academy Awards, Hidden Figures is the true story of three brilliant African-American women working at NASA during the organization’s early days, when segregation was still rife and women were not welcome in the sciences. Katherine Johnson (Taraji P. Henson), Dorothy Vaughan (Octavia Spencer), and Mary Jackson (Janelle Monáe) served as the mathematical brains, known as “computers,” behind the 1963 launch of the Mercury-Atlas rocket flight which took John Glenn into Earth’s orbit. Based on the novel by UVA alumna Margot Shetterly, the film delves into a previously untold story of three American heroes. Discussion with author Margot Lee Shetterly, Dayna Matthew (UVA), Meredith Clark (UVA), and Aniko Bodroghkozy (UVA), moderated by Deborah McDowell (UVA)

Presented by James Madison’s Montpelier

Supported by the Office for Equal Opportunity and Civil Rights and the Office for Diversity and Equity