The 58th BFI London Film Festival, in partnership with American Express, has announced that this year’s Opening Night film will be The Imitation Game, a dramatic portrayal of the life and work of Alan Turing, one of Britain’s unsung heroes.
The film will receive its European premiere on Wednesday 8 October at the Odeon Leicester Square with a live cinecast from the red carpet and simultaneous screenings taking place at cinemas across the UK.
Stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, and director Morten Tyldum are expected to attend the London event.
The pioneer of modern-day computing, Turing is credited with cracking the German Enigma code and the film is a nail-biting race against time by Turing and his team at Britain’s top-secret code-breaking centre, Bletchley Park, during the darkest days of World War II.
[ Also Read: BBC to Release World War I Films in Theaters ]
Turing, whose contributions and genius significantly shortened the war, saving thousands of lives, was the eventual victim of an unenlightened British establishment, but his work and legacy live on.
The Imitation Game stars Benedict Cumberbatch (Star Trek Into Darkness, TV’s Sherlock) and Keira Knightley (Atonement) as close friend and fellow code-breaker Joan Clarke, alongside the cast including Matthew Goode (A Single Man), Mark Strong (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Rory Kinnear (Skyfall), Charles Dance (Gosford Park, TV’s Game of Thrones), Allen Leech (In Fear, TV’s Downton Abbey) and Matthew Beard (An Education).
Norwegian filmmaker Morten Tyldum, 2012 BAFTA nominee for Headhunters, directs from a screenplay by Graham Moore, based on the book “Alan Turing: The Enigma” by Andrew Hodges.
Black Bear Pictures’ Teddy Schwarzman produces alongside Bristol Automotive’s Nora Grossman and Ido Ostrowsky, with Moore as executive producer and Peter Heslop (The King’s Speech) as co-producer.
Filmnation Entertainment is overseeing international distribution. Studiocanal releases the film in UK cinemas on 14 November, 2014.
The 58th BFI London Film Festival in partnership with American Express runs from Wednesday 8 October – Sunday 19 October. The full programme for the Festival will be announced on Wednesday 3 September.
In the picture above: Keira Knightley, Matthew Beard, Matthew Goode, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Allen Leech star in THE IMITATION GAME. Photo courtesy: Studiocanal
