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HIDDEN FIGURES: Taraji P Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe all star in the film (Image: 20th Century Fox)

BLACKBURNE HOUSE Café Bar in Liverpool will celebrate International Women’s Week with a screening of a movie helmed by three black women.

Hidden Figures, based on Margot Lee Shetterly’s book of the same name, tells the story of three black female mathematicians who served a vital role in NASA during the early years of the US space programme.

The film stars Taraji P Henson as Katherine Johnson, a mathematician who calculated flight trajectories for Project Mercury and other missions, soul singer and actress Janelle Monáe as NASA engineer Mary Jackson and Octavia Spencer as NASA supervisor and mathematician Dorothy Vaughan.

Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Glen Powell and Mahershala Ali have supporting roles.

An important breakthrough in the film industry, Hidden Figures was a triumph for black women in Hollywood who were usually portrayed as the maid, the nanny or the secretary. Furthermore, until the film’s release in January 2017 the women’s achievements had largely gone unnoticed.

The free film screening in The Bistro, Blackburne House is part of a week of celebrations throughout the city. It will take place on March 5 at 7.30pm.

Supper will be available and a fully licensed bar. At least one alcoholic or soft beverage must be purchased per person.

Bookings can be made via eventbrite.

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