During the build up to the Apollo space programme, mathematically gifted women, typically African-American, worked in high-pressure ‘pools’ churning out answers to NASA’s seemingly impossible questions. They were known as ‘computers’.

Three women challenged the status quo, demanding recognition, authority and respect. Katherine Johnson rose through the ranks to become one of NASA’s most respected mathematicians, Mary Jackson became the first qualified African-American female engineer in the USA and Dorothy Vaughan saw the coming of machine-based computers, becoming one of the world’s leading experts on programming.

This incredible true story charts the rise of these formidable scientists against the odds. Even today they are yet to receive the recognition they deserve and Hidden Figures takes great strides in correcting this.