PITTSBORO, NC— In recognition of Women’s History Month in March, Chatham Community Library will host a virtual film screening of Great Unsung Women of Computing: The Computers, The Coders, and The Future Makers (2016). This program is free and open to the public.

WHAT: Virtual Film Screening: Great Unsung Women of Computing: The Computers, The Coders, and The Future Makers

WHEN: Thursday, March 14 – Thursday, March 21, 2024

WHERE: Virtual Program (see registration details below)

WHO: Great Unsung Women of Computing is a series of three remarkable documentary films that show how women revolutionized the computing and Internet technology we use today, inspiring female students to believe that programming careers lie within their grasp.

The Computers features the extraordinary story of the ENIAC Programmers, six young women who programmed the world’s first modern, programmable computer, ENIAC, as part of a secret WWII project. They programmed ENIAC without programming language (for none existed) and harnessed its power to perform advanced military calculations at lighting speeds. However, when the ENIAC was unveiled in 1946, the Programmers were never introduced, and they became invisible.

The Coders tells the story of two extraordinary women, Sarah Allen and Pavni Diwanji whose technologies revolutionized the Internet: Allen co-invented Flash, the first multimedia platform supporting video, graphics, games and animation for the internet, while Diwanji invented the Java servlet to allow web applications to respond quickly to requests from users everywhere.

In The Future Makers, Andrea Colaço, a young MIT PhD, shares her dream of a world in which people interact with smart devices using natural hand gestures, not static keyboards or touchpads. She invented 3D “gestural recognition technology” and co-founded 3dim to develop and market it. In 2013, 3dim won MIT’s $100K Entrepreneurship Prize and launched Colaço towards her dream of innovation and changing the world.

Film Highlights and Awards:
• United Nations Association Film Festival, Grand Jury Award, Best Short Documentary
• Inspirefest Dublin 2015
• Paris International Lesbian & Feminist Film Festival
• Seattle International Film Festival

Access to the virtual screening will be available beginning Thursday, March 14, by visiting: https://www.wmm.com/virtual-screening-room/great-unsung-women-of-computing-watch-page-chatham-community-library.

A password is required at the time of viewing. Those who are interested may contact social.library@chathamlibraries.org to request the password or for additional information. The library has purchased a hard copy of the film if residents who wish to see the film miss the virtual screening window.

Residents may also visit the libraries’ website www.chathamlibraries.org, or contact the library at (919) 545-8084 for more information on this and other events and programs.