She searched for her son for 50 years after his adoption. Now Philomena Lee’s quest has been captured in an Oscar-nominated film starring Dame Judi Dench. Dench stars with Steve Coogan as journalist Martin Sixsmith in Philomena, a movie that exposes adoption rights in Ireland. The film has drawn attention to Lee’s story and what transpired in Ireland for decades, where Children were adopted by Americans and their birth mothers were unable to find out what happened to them. The movie has spurred an initiative called The Philomena Project which tries to reunite families. Lee describes herself as a housewife but she’s going to the Oscars this year where Philomena is up for four awards including best picture.