On Oct. 4, in advance of a premiere in theatres later in the month and a national cable TV broadcast later this year, NPC members and guests are invited to a sneak preview and panel discussion of Codebreaker, an acclaimed new 53-minute film about Alan Turing’s heroic life, tragic death and lasting legacy. The screening and panel discussion will begin at 7 p.m., preceded by a ticketed reception at 6 p.m.

Credited with “catapulting civilization into the digital age,” Turing is one of the 20th century's greatest technologists, whose contributions to our modern world are only now being recognized and understood. As the founding father of computer science and artificial intelligence, Turing laid the cornerstone of the computer age.  He also helped turn the tide of World War II by breaking Germany's Naval Enigma code. 

In addition to describing Turing’s many scientific, technological and engineering achievements, Codebreaker puts a human face on the eccentric British mathematician. Instead of receiving accolades, Turing faced terrible persecution.  In 1952, the British Government forced him to undergo chemical castration as punishment for his homosexuality. The film sheds new light on the events leading up to Turing’s 1954 suicide a few weeks before his 42nd birthday.

Codebreaker is a drama documentary that uses emotional and engaging reconstructions to animate Turing's life in intricate detail and high color.  The drama scenes center on the therapy sessions Turing participated in during the last 18 months of his life.  Built on an historical foundation of true events, Turing tells the story as he searches for answers.  Documentary elements interconnect with drama scenes to offer a three-dimensional picture of the technologist, his accomplishments, tragic end and lasting legacy.  

Almost two-million people worldwide have seen the film in the United Kingdom, Spain, Australia and Canada.  In London, The Times described Codebreaker as “an overdue and thoroughly honourable telling of this dreadful story.”  The Sunday Times called it “powerful” and “imaginative." A two-minute trailer is available at http://www.turingfilm.com/.

Joining the film’s executive producer, Patrick Sammon, in discussing Turing’s personal story and professional achievements, following the preview screening will be: David Alan Grier, 2013 IEEE Computer Society President and Associate Professor of International Science and Technology Policy at George Washington University; and Glenn Zorpette, executive editor of IEEE Spectrum, who has written on both cybersecurity and Turing for Spectrum and Scientific American.

The 100th anniversary of Turing's birth is being is being marked across the globe in 2012, with hundreds of events in dozens of countries to celebrate The Alan Turing Year.