Hidden Figures surely is one of the most important films of 2016. It portrays the stories of three African-American women whose ambitions and ability to dream big, but above all, hard work, manage to earn them the deserved professional recognition and personal respect, as they evolve their career paths and status in NASA, both as women and as women of African-American descent.

Hidden Figures comes as a reminder to appreciate everyone as different and amazing as they are, but also to strive for a society that seeks to deliver equity, equal respect, opportunities and rights for everyone.

It’s no surprise then that what’s even more valuable than men recognizing women’s potential and ability to work as hard as them, is to see women supporting other women, respecting and empowering each other.

Theodore Melfi’s film skillfully makes use of humour as to present a realistic yet toned down account of reality as oppressive and deprived of equality as it was back in the 1960s. However, even if the writers have included slight exaggerations to make a point by preserving the comedy tone, I’d argue that portraying one of the male protagonists, Paul Stafford (Jim Parsons), as nearly incapable of doing his job of calculating numbers without making any errors, is hardly the best choice. But then again, that might have been precisely the case.

Having said that, Hidden Figures features some strong performances by a multi-award winning cast that includes Taraji P. Henson, Octavia Spencer, Janelle Monáe, Kevin Costner, Kirsten Dunst, and more. Equally important, the amazing soundtrack, featuring Pharrell Williams as the lead performer, certainly adds to the experience of watching smart writing and great acting.

I’ll say no more and, instead, urge you to go see it if you still haven’t – I promise you two hours of laughter!

Also, Happy International Women’s Day!