LONDON: Biographical films are the toast of the 58th London Film Festival, which opens on Wednesday with The Imitation Game, the tale of the British mathematician Alan Turing who broke Nazi code but was persecuted for being gay.

The role is played by British actor Benedict Cumberbatch, who made his name as Sherlock Holmes in a popular television series and as a relatively benign plantation owner in the Oscar winning 2013 film 12 Years a Slave.

Turing was a computer scientist ahead of his time and the film coincides with the 60th anniversary of his death.

He was prosecuted for homosexuality in 1952 when it was a crime in Britain, despite the fact that he had played a crucial role in deciphering German codes that experts say accelerated the fall of Adolf Hitler.

Forced to undergo chemical castration, Turing killed himself at the age of 41. He was officially pardoned only last year by Queen Elizabeth II, six decades after his tragic death.

Wednesday marks the European premiere of the film of his life, which also stars British actress Keira Knightley and won the top people's choice award at the Toronto International Film Festival last month.

A newcomer to cinema, US star comedian and presenter of 'The Daily Show' Jon Stewart, will also be in London to present his first film.

Rosewater, which is also biographical, tells the true story of the detention of the Canadian-Iranian journalist Maziar Bahari, played by Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal.

Inspiring life stories

The later years of one of Britain's most celebrated artists are the subject of Mr. Turner, directed by Mike Leigh and starring Timothy Spall, who won best actor at the Cannes Film Festival for his performance.

Bennet Miller's Foxcatcher is also based on a true 1980s story of a rich billionaire played by Steve Carell who takes two wrestler brothers (played by Channing Tatum and Mark Ruffalo) under his wing.

Wild, by Canadian director Jean-Marc Vallee tells the story of Cheryl Strayed, who walked 1,700 kilometres (1,056 miles) through the US wilderness of the Pacific Crest Trail, to overcome the death of her mother, a difficult divorce and a history of drug addiction.

Strayed is played by Oscar-winner Reese Witherspoon in the epic film, adapted from a bestselling book.

One biopic premiering at the film bonanza is Festival of Youth, inspired by the memoirs of British author Vera Brittain about her life during World War I.

A determined and intelligent woman, the young Brittain fled to escape her conservative parents by winning a scholarship to Oxford University.

She fell deeply in love, but all was changed with the outbreak of World War I and her companion's departure to the front lines. Brittain gave up her studies to become a volunteer nurse and faced the horrors of war.

Another war film, Fury starring US actor Brad Pitt, will close the festival on October 19.

Shot in Britain, the feature follows the adventures of five soldiers fighting in a tank called Fury during the final days of World War II.