in the name of the father is a 1993 irish british biographical drama movie directed by jim sheridan and was based on the 1990 autobiography "proven innocent" by gerry conlon. it stars daniel day-lewis, pete postlethwaite, emma thompson, corin redgrave, beatie edney, john benfield, paterson joseph, frank harper, tom wilkinson, saffron burrows and was nominated for 7 academy awards in 1994. it was distributed by universal pictures.