A film about a British mathematician who played a key role in World War II and later went on to assist in the development of computers won the top prize at the 39th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) as director Morten Tyldum's The Imitation Game claimed the Grolsch People's Choice Award.

This year marked the 37th year that Toronto audiences were able to cast a ballot for their favorite festival film. The Imitation Game features Benedict Cumberbatch as Alan Turing, a British logician, cryptologist and computer scientist who assisted in the effort to crack the German Enigma Code that helped the Allies in WWII.

Turing went on to aid the development of computers at the University of Manchester after the war. He was prosecuted by the British government in 1952 for homosexual acts which the country then deemed illegal. The film also stars Keira Knightley and Matthew Goode. The award includes a $15,000 cash prize and custom award, sponsored by Grolsch. The first runner up was Isabel Coixet's Learning to Drive.

This win could be a precursor for The Imitation Game in the 2015 Oscar race as three of the past six People's Choice Award winners have gone on to receive best picture, including The King's Speech, Slumdog Millionaire and 2014's 12 Years a Slave.

Other award winners at the TIFF, which concluded Sunday, include Hajooj Kuka's Beats of the Antonov, which earned the audience documentary award. The film follows refugees from the Blue Nile and Nuba Mountains in Sudan as they survive displacement and the trauma of civil war. Maxime Giroux's Felix and Meira won the Canada Goose Award for Best Canadian Feature Film and Jeffrey St. Jules won the prize for best Canadian feature film Bang Bang Baby.

The festival set a new record for industry delegate attendance and delivered strong film sales.