First Poster & New Pics For Stephen Frears’ Venice & TIFF Entry ‘Philomena’ Starring Judi Dench & Steve Coogan

When the awards season rolls around, you can’t count out Judi Dench. She’s a seven time Oscar nominee (winning in 1999 for “Shakespeare In Love“), a beloved legend and simply a damn good actress. So even though this new poster for her upcoming “Philomena” has caused our blood sugar level to rise, again, she’s not one to dismiss no matter how treacly the material might look like.

Directed by Stephen Frears and co-starring Steve Coogan, the movie is based on Martin Sixsmith‘s book “The Lost Child of Philomena Lee: A Mother, Her Son and a 50 Year Search,” and tells the true of an Irish woman who searches for the illegimate son she was forced to give up when she was in a convent. Cue hankies. While this might be slam dunk, the wildcard here is Frears, whose last few movies — “Muhammad Ali’s Greatest Fight,” “Lay The Favorite,” and “Tamara Drewe” — don’t inspire much confidence.

It seems that The Weinstein Company are waiting to see how this plays at Venice and TIFF. While slated for a November 1st release in the U.K., it remains undated here.