Newport Beach festival names ‘Imitation Game’ top film

The Newport Beach Film Festival has picked “The Imitation Game” for its 2014 Best Picture and Outstanding Ensemble Cast awards, according to The Weinstein Co., the film’s studio.

“The Imitation Game” will be screened Monday night at a members-only Orange County Film Society event with some members of the cast and crew at the Lido Live Theater in Newport Beach.

The movie, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley, tells the true story of cryptanalyst and computer scientist Alan Turing, who led the team that cracked the Nazis’ Enigma code during World War II.

“After the Newport Beach Film Festival team screened ‘The Imitation Game’ at the Toronto International Film Festival, it was abundantly clear that this film and its cast were standouts,” Gregg Schwenk, chief executive of the Newport Beach festival, said in a statement. “The film was exceptional at portraying the legacy and contribution of ... Turing and the code breakers.”

The movie, which opened in theaters in November, has been nominated for five Golden Globe awards, including Best Picture, Best Motion Picture Actor in a Drama, Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, Best Screenplay and Best Original Score. It also was included in the American Film Institute’s top 11 films of the year and was nominated for three Screen Actors Guild awards.

The 2015 Newport Beach Film Festival is scheduled for April 23 to 30.

—Rob Vardon