"The Magdalene Sisters" is a 2002 Irish drama film written and directed by Peter Mullan. The film is based on the true stories of women who were confined to Magdalene asylums, institutions that existed in Ireland from the 18th century to the late 1990s. These asylums were run by Catholic orders of nuns and were ostensibly for women who were considered "undesirable" or "unruly," including those who were orphaned, homeless, or had been involved in prostitution.