This film is currently unavailable
This film is certified

- Contains infrequent strong language and moderate sex references

Philomena
Judi Dench and Steve Coogan star in the deeply moving yet warm-hearted drama about a woman’s search for her forcibly adopted son.
Drama 2013 98 mins
Director: Stephen Frears
Overview
Judi Dench and Steve Coogan are the unlikely double-act in Stephen Frears’ Bafta-winning drama, which tackles the painful issue of enforced adoption within the Catholic Church with warmth and humanity.
Coogan plays journalist Martin Sixsmith, who becomes intrigued by the story of Philomena Lee (Dench), who as a pregnant teenager in Ireland was shipped off to a convent where nuns forcibly adopted her child. Profoundly affected by her story, Sixsmith convinces her to challenge the convent for answers, leading a trail to America where they uncover the extraordinary story of her long-lost son. British cinema’s dextrous and deft-handed veteran Stephen Frears steers the tone perfectly between light humour and devastating drama, corralling an impressive straight-role from the usually comic Coogan along with a performance of remarkable dignity from Judi Dench. The result is a film that astonishes for its quiet power; shining a light on a disturbing, forgotten history while leaving viewers optimistic and enlightened.

Related
Drama

A Common Crime [Un crimen común] A Common Crime [Un crimen común]
Drama 2020 96 mins Director: Francisco Márquez
There are echoes of Lucrecia Martel’s The Headless Woman in this gripping tale of class divisions and ethical responsibility in contemporary Argentina.

Sequin in a Blue Room Sequin in a Blue Room
Drama 2019 80 mins Director: Samuel Van Grinsven
Sexual obsessions spiral dangerously out of control in this altogether different coming-of-age tale.

T11 Incomplete T11 Incomplete
Drama 2020 104 mins Director: Suzanne Guacci
Past mistakes haunt the present and threaten a new love affair between an older woman and her patient in this compelling melodrama.

Minari Minari
Drama 2020 116 mins Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Lee Isaac Chung's sweeping story of a Korean-American family in search of the American Dream, winner of two Sundance prizes and now nominated for six Academy Awards.

Zana Zana
Drama 2019 96 mins Director: Antoneta Kastrati
Haunted by her long-suppressed past, a Kosovar woman struggles to reconcile the expectations of motherhood with a legacy of wartime brutality.

Sometimes Always Never Sometimes Always Never
Comedy 2018 91 mins Director: Carl Hunter
Bill Nighy, Sam Riley and Alice Lowe star in this stylish and heartfelt comedy-drama about a Scrabble-obsessed tailor searching for a lost son.
Best of BAFTA

Calm with Horses Calm with Horses
Drama 2019 100 mins Director: Nick Rowland
Cosmo Jarvis (Lady Macbeth) gives a visceral performance as the hired muscle for a crime family in rural Ireland.

White Riot White Riot
Documentary 2019 81 mins Director: Rubika Shah
Revolution rock! Rubika Shah’s vital documentary profiles punky reggae protest movement Rock Against Racism, from grassroots beginnings through to a major multicultural event.

Collective Collective
Documentary 2019 109 mins Director: Alexander Nanau
When burn patients begin dying from non-life-threatening injuries a group of investigative journalists uncover a vast healthcare scandal, in this gripping Romanian documentary.

Les Misérables Les Misérables
Thriller 2019 104 mins Director: Ladj Ly
Ladj Ly’s extraordinary Cannes Jury Prize-winning debut obliterates the myth of cultural integration in France.

Babyteeth Babyteeth
Drama 2019 118 mins Director: Shannon Murphy
Seriously ill Milla (Eliza Scanlen) clashes with her parents, who disapprove when she brings home her sketchy new boyfriend Toby, in this tragicomic debut from Shannon Murphy.

Saint Maud Saint Maud
Horror 2019 81 mins Director: Rose Glass
A mysterious nurse becomes dangerously obsessed with saving the soul of her dying patient in director Rose Glass’ divine debut.
Featuring Steve Coogan

Mindhorn Mindhorn
Comedy 2016 88 mins Director: Sean Foley
Julian Barratt is hilarious as the washed-up actor forced to reprise his 80s TV role as a sleuth with a robotic truth-telling eye, to help catch a deranged killer.

Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa
Comedy 2013 90 mins Director: Declan Lowney
It’s Alan’s finest hour, as the veteran DJ for North Norfolk Digital (Steve Coogan) is called into action to mediate a hostage situation following a siege.
Directed by Stephen Frears

Walter Walter
Drama 1982 73 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ian McKellen stars in Stephen Frears' TV play as Walter, a man with learning difficulties who's put in an institution after the death of his mother.

Walter and June Walter and June
Drama 1983 65 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ian McKellen and Stephen Frears reunite for the sequel to their TV play Walter. The titular character (McKellen) meets a young mother (Sarah Miles) who is suicidally depressed; the two support one another to cope with life in a closed institution.

The Program The Program
Biopic 2015 103 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Ben Foster is Lance Armstrong in this kinetic account of the cyclist who fell from grace, from acclaimed director Stephen Frears.

Prick Up Your Ears Prick Up Your Ears
Biopic 1987 110 mins Director: Stephen Frears
A celebration of outrageous British playwright Joe Orton’s irreverent and charismatic talent, starring Gary Oldman and Alfred Molina.

Typically British Typically British
Documentary 1994 76 mins Director: Stephen Frears
Stephen Frears explores the wealth of stylish and familiar images created by the British film industry in the 20th century, aided by fellow directors Alexander Mackendrick, Michael Apted, and Alan Parker and writer Gavin Lambert.
New

Sisters with Transistors Sisters with Transistors
Documentary 2020 86 mins Director: Lisa Rovner
The remarkable untold story of electronic music’s female pioneers, who embraced machines and their liberating technologies to transform how we produce and listen to music today.

Henry Glassie: Field Work Henry Glassie: Field Work
Documentary 2019 105 mins Director: Pat Collins
Director Pat Collins’ sublime portrait of the renowned American folklorist and ethnologist, Henry Glassie, who has spent a half century documenting the artistic processes of traditional craftspeople.

A Common Crime [Un crimen común] A Common Crime [Un crimen común]
Drama 2020 96 mins Director: Francisco Márquez
There are echoes of Lucrecia Martel’s The Headless Woman in this gripping tale of class divisions and ethical responsibility in contemporary Argentina.

Sequin in a Blue Room Sequin in a Blue Room
Drama 2019 80 mins Director: Samuel Van Grinsven
Sexual obsessions spiral dangerously out of control in this altogether different coming-of-age tale.

T11 Incomplete T11 Incomplete
Drama 2020 104 mins Director: Suzanne Guacci
Past mistakes haunt the present and threaten a new love affair between an older woman and her patient in this compelling melodrama.

Minari Minari
Drama 2020 116 mins Director: Lee Isaac Chung
Lee Isaac Chung's sweeping story of a Korean-American family in search of the American Dream, winner of two Sundance prizes and now nominated for six Academy Awards.