Trailer for Festival Favorite 'Philomena' Starring Judi Dench and Steve Coogan

Could Philomena be a dark horse Best Picture contender this Oscar season? It definitely looks like Stephen Frears has bounced back from a series of underwhelming efforts with the crowd-pleaser after it took runner-up to 12 Years A Slave for the TIFF People's Choice Award. And after a number of well-received showings elsewhere and some extremely high praise for stars Judi Dench and Steve Coogan, a new trailer for the film has been released.

Co-written by Coogan and adapting the memoir by disgraced civil servant/journalist Martin Sixsmith, the story follows his attempts to help Philomena Lee reconnect with the child who was forcibly taken from her by Irish nuns in the 1950s.  The trailer seems to give away a lot of the story, but it also does a good job of presenting the heartwarming premise, not to mention the funny and touching bond formed between Coogan and Dench which is sure to be the biggest draw.

Philomena opens in select cities on Christmas Day, then nationally January 10th.