The University of Maine at Presque Isle will present its next Salmagundi Film Series screening on Tuesday, March 12, at 6 p.m. in the Campus Center Multi-Purpose Room. In honor of Women’s History Month, the series will feature Hidden Figures, the 2016 film based on a true story about the black female mathematicians at NASA who helped launch an astronaut into orbit. All are invited to attend this film screening.
This semester, the Salmagundi Film Series will feature a “dinner and a movie” option. Attendees will be able to purchase an all-you-can-eat buffet dinner in Kelley Commons for a reduced fee of $9.50 and can bring their meal in to the MPR to eat while they watch the film.
Based on the 2016 New York Times best-selling book by Margot Lee Shetterly, Hidden Figures tells the untold story of three brilliant African-American women and the gender and racial lines they crossed while working at NASA. Their calculations helped to launch astronaut John Glenn into orbit, an incredibly important achievement during the early years of the U.S. space program.
Directed by Theodore Melfi, the film is rated PG, is 2 hours and 7 minutes, and has a 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Established in Fall 2018, UMPI’s Salmagundi Film Series focuses on a new film each month followed by a conversation about the subject matter. The series is held on the second Tuesday of the month, unless otherwise noted, and was created to show a wide range of films and to provide an opportunity for people to discuss their thoughts on the film. Loosely translated, Salmagundi means “a little bit of everything” and it was the name of UMPI’s school newspaper back in 1909. Partial funding for this film series presentation is proudly supported by the UMPI Library.
Later this semester, the series will present Paper Tigers on April 23.
To learn more about Hidden Figures, visit the official film website at www.hiddenfiguresmovie.com. For more information about this screening, contact Gayla Shaw at 207-768-9452 or email umpi@maine.edu.