Billed as a bittersweet comedy, the script tells the tale of Philomena Lee who, after pregnant as a teenager in Ireland in 1952, was sent to the convent of Roscrea to be looked after as a "fallen woman."
When her baby was only a toddler, he was whisked away by the nuns to America for adoption.
Philomena spent the next 50 years searching for him in vain before meeting journalist Sixsmith, who embarked on a quest with her to find her son.