PHILOMENA

By Stephen FREARS

PATHE PRODUCTION LTD. - as SALES All rights, World

Drama - Completed 2012

PHILOMENA is a bitter-sweet comedy about a mother’s search for her lost son and the journalist who helps her, ultimately transforming their lives.

Festivals
& Awards

La Biennale di Venezia - Venice FF 2013
Competition
Fest. Européen des Arcs 2013
Avant-premiere
    • Year of production
    • 2012
    • Genres
    • Drama
    • Countries
    • UNITED KINGDOM
    • Languages
    • ENGLISH
    • Budget
    • 10 - 25 M$
    • Director(s)
    • Stephen FREARS
    • Writer(s)
    • Jeff POPE, Steve COOGAN
    • EIDR
    • 10.5240/106F-B82A-BCA4-562A-586F-Q
    • Producer(s)
    • Gabrielle TANA, Tracey SEAWARD
    • Synopsis
    • Philomena is the true story of one mother’s search for her lost son.
      Falling pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, Philomena Lee was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a “fallen woman”. When her baby was only a toddler, he was taken away by the nuns for adoption in America. Philomena spent the next fifty years searching for him in vain.
      Then she met Martin Sixsmith, a world-weary journalist as cynical as Philomena was trusting. Together they set off for America on a journey that would not only reveal the extraordinary story of Philomena’s son, but also create an unexpectedly close bond between Philomena and Martin.
      It is a compelling narrative of human love and loss that ultimately celebrates life. Coogan has described the film as “A comic tragedy or a tragic comedy. It's about two very different people, at different stages of their lives, who help each other and show that there is laughter even in the darkest places.”
      The Lost Child Of Philomena Lee was published in 2009; it acted as a catalyst for thousands of adopted Irish children and their ‘shamed’ mothers to come forward and tell their stories. Many are still searching for their lost families.