The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Director John Connors and Producer Tiernan Williams.

Where the Road Meets the Sky is a layered and deeply reflective experimental film funded by the Arts Council of Ireland, examining the intersection of time, language, and memory through the lived experience of Irish Travellers.

At the center of the film stands Chrissy Donaghue Ward, grandmother of the film’s writer and director John Connors, a towering figure in Irish Traveller history. An unwavering matriarch, civil rights activist, and the last Shanakee of the open road from the Donaghue, Ward, and Connors clans, Chrissy is the keeper of a culture shaped by movement, oral storytelling, and survival.

Told in part through Chrissy’s voice and presence, the film reflects on a way of life increasingly pushed to the margins. Through a layered, experimental structure, it explores how stories are carried across generations and what is lost when language, tradition, and mobility are disrupted.

Writer and director John Connors appears in contrast to his grandmother: measured, intense, and deeply sincere. He reflects on finding solace in childhood listening to Chrissy’s stories by the campfire, stories that inspired him to imagine a future shaped by storytelling.

Against this intimate family history, the film bears witness to forced settlements that have threatened the fabric of Mincéir traditions. As artisan trades such as tinsmithing give way to plastic and mass production, the echoes of a once-thriving nomadic way of life grow fainter. Yet in Chrissy’s voice, those echoes refuse to fade.

Ticket includes After Party at Solas E. 9th St. off 2nd Ave with complimentary beer, 9p-11pm

The screening will be followed by a Q&A with Directors Glen Leyburn & Lisa Barros D’Sa

Video gallery

Image gallery

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Where the road
meets the sky

John Connors invites his grandmother Chrissy Donohue Ward into the frame to share the myths and oral traditions that shaped her and inspired him as a filmmaker. A lifelong Mincéir activist and poet, Chrissy blends enchanting fairytales with raw truths, celebrating the Irish Traveller community’s resilience.

Negotiator

In a world riven with conflict what is needed to turn war into peace? How can all parties to a war become all parties to a peace? Experience shows it’s the presence of a critical individual in whom all sides can have confidence to chair talks and create the space for an agreement to emerge. In Northern Ireland, one of the few examples of a long-lasting negotiated peace settlement, that critical person was Senator George Mitchell.

Ballroom Boom

U2's Adam Clayton explores the phenomenal rise and fall of Irish showbands when over 700 bands and thousands of musicians (including future rock heroes Van Morrison and Rory Gallagher) performed the latest chart hits live in ballrooms most nights of the week during the 1960s.

WHAT'S ON NEXT

From incredible live music to outstanding artists and hilarious comedians, there is always something in the works. We'd love to share it with you!

FILM | MARCH 7