‘Hidden Figures’ to Receive Ensemble Performance Award at Palm Springs International Film Festival

Film stars Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae, who are expected to attend the gala

hidden figures
Fox

The cast of “Hidden Figures” will receive the Ensemble Performance Award at the 28th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival, the festival announced Thursday.

Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monae, Kevin Costner and Jim Parsons are expected to attend the awards gala, which will be held on Jan. 2 at the Palm Springs Convention Center. The Festival runs Jan. 2-16.

“History has its share of incredible untold stories, and this is one of the most compelling, the tale of three African-American women – engineers, physicists, mathematicians – who in their work for NASA in the early 1960s were integral in calculating the flight trajectories for Project Mercury and Apollo 11,” Festival Chairman Harold Maztner said.  “Fueled by the performances of Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monáe, the ensemble cast also features outstanding performances from Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, Jim Parsons, Mahershala Ali, Glen Powell and many others.  The Palm Springs International Film Festival is proud to present the entire cast of ‘Hidden Figures’ with the 2017 Ensemble Performance Award.”

Past recipients of the award include “Argo,” “American Hustle,” “The Big Short,” “The Imitation Game” and “The Social Network.” Previously announced honorees attending the awards gala include Casey Affleck, Tom Hanks, Nicole Kidman, Ruth Negga, Natalie Portman and the cast of “La La Land.”

“Hidden Figures” focuses on three women who served as the brains behind NASA’s Friendship 7 mission, which saw Glenn become the first American to orbit Earth, in 1962. Henson plays Katherine Johnson, Spencer plays Dorothy Vaughan and Monae plays the youngest member of the trio, Mary Jackson.

“Hidden Figures” will be released on Jan. 13.

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