The Newport Beach Film Festival (NBFF) and The Weinstein Company have announced the drama will receive the best picture and outstanding ensemble cast awards in April.

The Imitation Game will also be the subject of a pre-BAFTA private reception on February 5 at the ME Hotel in London in association with Screen International, Visit Newport Beach California and Orange County Film Society (OCFS) ahead of the 2015 BAFTA awards on February 8. Cast will be in attendance.

The film broke into the top ten in North America on December 25 following a wide expansion through The Weinstein Company and to date has grossed more than $17.8m.

Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Charles Dance and Mark Strong star and Morten Tyldum directed.

FilmNation handles international sales on the true story of the cryptoanalyst and computer scientist Alan Turing, who led the wartime team that cracked the Nazi Enigma code and committed suicide in 1954 following persecution by the British government for homosexuality.

The Imitation Game will screen at the Lido Theater in Newport Beach on January 5 with members of the OCFS and select members of the cast and crew set to attend.

Black Bear Pictures and Bristol Automotive produced the film, which was named in the American Film Institute’s top 11 films of 2014, earned three SAG nominations and five Golden Globe nods for best drama, best actor in a drama, best supporting actress, best screenplay and best original score.

“Our tremendous and heartfelt thanks go to the Newport Beach Film Festival and their partners Screen International and the Orange County Film Society,” said Tyldum.

“Their support is so important to us and we’re incredibly proud to receive such prestigious honours from them for The Imitation Game this year. This is a film that recognises a man who was a hero and saved lives, but was sadly persecuted in his lifetime. We are grateful to be shining a long overdue light on him.”

“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”, said NBFF CEO and executive director Gregg Schwenk.

“The film was exceptional at portraying the legacy and contribution of Allen Turing and the code breakers.”

NBFF is set to run from April 23-30.