To commemorate the 100th anniversary of Alan Turing's birth, the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC) will host free screenings of Codebreaker, a feature documentary about the father of computer science.
CODEBREAKER is a new docudrama that aired on British television last year to glowing reviews. The film sheds light on the man whose genius helped turn the tide of World War 2 and set in motion the digital revolution.
It is widely believed that Turing, by breaking the Nazis' Naval Enigma code, helped shorten the Second World War by two years, saving millions of lives. As the founding father of computer science and artificial intelligence, Turing envisioned and helped to pioneer the Information Age in which we now live.
"Turing should be a household name like Einstein," says Patrick Sammon, executive producer and creator of CODEBREAKER. "His amazing story is one that people should know about."
Instead of being celebrated as a genius and pioneer during his time, Turing instead faced harsh persecution for his homosexuality. In 1952, the British government forced him to undergo chemical castration as punishment, which led to his despair and eventual suicide in 1954 at 41 years old.
Told through a mix of documentary interviews and dramatized re-enactments of Turing's psychotherapy sessions, the film paints a vivid portrait of Turing's life and legacy. CODEBREAKER been lauded as "powerful" and "imaginative," and The Times (UK) described the film as "an overdue and thoroughly honourable telling this dreadful story."
"I hope this film will show people who much of a genius Turing was, and how much he contributed to our modern world," says Sammon.
IQC will host two free screenings of CODEBREAKER on June 21 — an early show at 6:30 p.m. and later one at 8 p.m.
Both screenings will be followed by a Q&A session with IQC researchers whose quantum information research owes a debt to the trailblazing work of Turing.
The screening is free, educational and open to the public, but advance registration is strongly recommended to ensure a spot.