FRI, 15 Nov | 8:30 pm OPERA HOUSE | Napa SAT, 16 Nov | 5:30 pm YCC THEATER | Yountville
Philomena FILM INFO RUN TIME: 98 min DIRECTOR: Stephen Frears PRODUCERS: Steve Coogan Tracey Seaward Gabrielle Tana SCREENWRITERS: Steve Coogan Jeff Pope Martin Sixsmith FEATURING: Judy Dench Steve Coogan
STUDIO SNEAK PEEKS:
PHILOMENA
SHOWTIMES
Based on The Lost Child of Philomena Lee, the 2009 investigative book by BBC correspondent Martin Sixsmith, Philomena focuses on the efforts of Philomena Lee, mother to a boy conceived out of wedlock — something her Irish-Catholic community didn’t have the highest opinion of — and given away for adoption in the United States. In following church doctrine, she was forced to sign a contract that wouldn’t allow any sort of inquiry into the son’s whereabouts. After starting a family years later in England and for the most part, moving on with her life, Lee meets Sixsmith, a BBC reporter with whom she decides to search for her long-lost son. Starring Dame Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, Philomena is a story of a mother’s love and passion to right a wrong no matter how much time has passed. Generously supported by Brenda & Marc Lhormer
COURTESY OF: THE WEINSTEIN COMPANY
About the filmmaker Regarded as one of Britain’s finest directors, Stephen Frears has embraced a wide variety of styles, themes, and genres in his work. He made his name in TV drama, for the first 15 years of his career. In the mid-1980s he turned to the cinema, shooting The Hit (1984). The following year he made My Beautiful Laundrette, which crossed over to big-screen audiences and altered the course of his career. Frears also directed Dangerous Liaisons and The Grifters. His film The Queen earned him an Oscar nomination in 2006.
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