39th Mill Valley Film Festival Master Class: The Women Behind Hidden Figures

THE WOMEN BEHIND HIDDEN FIGURES  | MASTER CLASS
SATURDAY, OCT. 8, 11:00am | SMITH RAFAEL FILM CENTER

SAN RAFAEL, CA. (September 23, 2016) – The Mill Valley Film Festival (October 6 – 16, 2016), presented by the California Film Institute, is pleased to present a master class of THE WOMEN BEHIND HIDDEN FIGURES as part of the BEHIND THE SCREENS program at the 39^th Mill Valley Film Festival.

Panel | THE WOMEN BEHIND HIDDEN FIGURES
What does it take to create and launch a film about the brilliant African-American mathematicians who worked behind the scenes at NASA on the first space missions? The female filmmakers behind the scenes at 20^th Century Fox present a special sneak peek at the creation of the highly-anticipated Hidden Figures. Showcasing footage of the film and its incredible cast (including Janelle Monáe, Taraji P. Henson, and Octavia Spencer), the team will give insights into the creative processes behind a film that celebrates – and claims recognition for – these unsung heroes. Invited guests include:

• Elizabeth Gabler, President, Fox 2000
• Marisa Paiva, Vice President of Production, Fox 2000
• Mandy Walker, Cinematographer, Hidden Figures
• Additional guests TBA
• Moderator: Malina Saval, Associate Editor, Features, Variety

Saturday, October 8 at 11:00am | Smith Rafael Film Center 

Sponsored by Variety

• Author
• Recent Posts

Erik Anderson

Erik Anderson is the founder/owner and Editor-in-Chief of AwardsWatch and has always loved all things Oscar, having watched the Academy Awards since he was in single digits; making lists, rankings and predictions throughout the show. This led him down the path to obsessing about awards. Much later, he found himself in film school and the film forums of GoldDerby, and then migrated over to the former Oscarwatch (now AwardsDaily), before breaking off to create AwardsWatch in 2013.

He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Critics Choice Association (CCA), San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle (SFBAFCC) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.

Latest posts by Erik Anderson (see all)

• Frontrunner Friday Oscar Predictions: We Need to Talk About ‘Marty’ - January 30, 2026
• 2026 Sundance Film Festival: ‘Josephine’ Wins Grand Jury Prize and Audience Award - January 30, 2026
• Midnight Critics Circle (MCC) Awards: ‘Marty Supreme’ Wins Best Picture - January 28, 2026