If truth is stranger than fiction, no one knows it better than director and screenwriter Jim Sheridan.

The Irish film maker's new movie "In America," which he labels "semi-autobiographical", made its debut in major US cities in late November.

In past work like 1989's "My Left Foot" and 1993's "In the Name of the Father," Sheridan focused on telling audiences about the real lives of other people, a quadriplegic who overcomes his handicap and becomes a painter and a father and son falsely imprisoned for an Irish Republican Army bombing.

For "In America," he turned the spotlight on himself, sort of, because when the tale of his family's first year in New York seemed unbelievable, he resorted to that time-honoured showbiz tradition. He lied.

In storytelling, of course, they call it dramatic licence. In Hollywood they simply call it a movie.

"Here's the trouble," Sheridan told Reuters. "When you write your own story, you find real life doesn't have plot points."

A story's plot turns at certain points and characters fulfil given functions. In movies, generally speaking, plots twist and characters act within a familiar framework that helps audiences understand the story.

"In America" is a tale of opportunity, getting a chance to start over, being part of something big and choosing to engage whatever that thing is, as opposed to withdrawing from it.

"I love (the) America of the melting pot. America, now, seems to take one of two choices, either being isolationist or being part of the melting pot. (The pot) is where the dream is, and that is important to maintain," said Sheridan.

STARTING A FRESH LIFE IN NEW YORK

Sheridan and his family moved to New York in 1982, when he was in his early 30s, and lived in a rundown section of Manhattan. "In America" tells of an Irishman named Johnny, his wife Sarah, and their daughters, Christy and Ariel, who emigrate to the city under the same conditions.

The family wants to start a fresh life, yet they are haunted emotionally by the memory of a fifth family member, a boy, who died before they arrived in the city.

In their first year in New York, they struggle to make ends meet. Johnny is an out-of-work actor and Sarah labours away at an ice cream parlour. The daughters must adjust to a new school and new traditions.

To add to the family's worries, Sarah gets pregnant, which reminds them of the tragedy of their lost son.

To write the story, Sheridan drew from the cancer-related death of his own brother, Frankie. The director calls Johnny an amalgamation of people, including himself and his father.

"In America" took Sheridan 10 years to write because, he said, it was hard for him to dig deep into his own life.

"You always see yourself consistently, in one way. You don't see contradictions," he said.

His first notion was to write flat and leave out details that seemed boastful. But doing so made for a weak central character, so the tendency was to move in the opposite direction. Finding a balance required taking himself out of the story and looking back with a wary eye.

"You stop being an actor in your life, and start to become a person watching your own life," he said.

TRAGEDY AND COMEDY

While deeply dramatic, the story nevertheless is filled with much humour because in all tragedy, there is some comedy.

"This is, in effect, a gentle story with huge negatives, so I had to keep it buoyant and friendly," said Sheridan.

He said he is often asked if writing "In America" was cathartic, and the answer is, no. "It made me even@volcanic," he said.

To help him, Sheridan enlisted his daughters, Naomi and Kirsten, who are fledgling film makers and who added a@American perspective because they were schooled in the United States under its traditions.

As with "My Left Foot," and "In the Name of The Father," there is talk of an Oscar, the US film industry's top honour, in the Hollywood air for "In America". And that is the truth.

But many events in the movie are false, Sheridan admits. It opens when Johnny's family is stopped crossing into the United States from Canada. The border patrol that halts them eventually allows them to pass.

In reality, Sheridan was stopped by police and arrested. When he lacked money to pay his fine, the cops felt so sorry that they paid the fine and Sheridan was free to leave.

The sentiment was the same + welcome to America and good luck + but the truth was stranger than fiction.

"In America" is being released by Fox Searchlight, the specialty film division of Twentieth Century Fox film studio, which is a unit of News Corporation Ltd's Fox Entertainment Group.

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