John Connors gets bored these days watching the “generic” on screen.
One response to that creatively and professionally has been to embrace the experimental.
That approach is in evidence in his documentary “When the Road Meets the Sky,” which will be shown in New York on March 7 as part of CraicFest 2026.
Connors, a filmmaker, writer and actor, has focused a new lens on Travellers as a people that is “a bit different and a bit left field.”
His previous work on Travellers tended to be “quite straightforward in style. This has its own style. It’s poetic, it’s melodic and it’s very spiritual.
“Specifically it’s about my family and specifically it’s about grief and overcoming grief,” he said.
“I’d say it’s more about that Irish spirit as well, of overcoming hard times, doing it through family, doing it by coming together.
“My granny is a protagonist in the story,” Connors said, referring to poet and activist Chrissy Donoghue Ward.
“I also believe in strong story. That’s the key to it all.”
One way he suggested in which the film might be experimental is how the visual connects with the narration, the poetry and the music. The film is done with an awareness, too, that images can conjure up certain things in the subconscious.
So, while a recently discovered trove of family photos and footage from the 1980s and ‘90s was the initial spark and inspiration to make “Where the Road Meets the Sky,” the film hasn't been built around it. Indeed, that trove is a small part of what’s on the screen. The 36-year-old filmmaker said that the work of director of photography Kevin Treacy is central to the project. “We just have incredible footage really,” he added.
Likewise with regard to a traditional information-based approach, Connors said, “I know everything about my family. I’ve recorded hundreds of hours of family members talking.” He’s previously looked at the community “through a DNA perspective, anthropological, historical, you name it.”
He said, “It’s not that type of doc. This is going deeper into the psyche of my family, of the culture and Ireland.”
It’s an examination of his grandmother as an heroic figure, Connors said, and “what turned her into the person she is today.”
Her flair for language and the stances she took have had their impacts on the filmmaker.
He locates the beginning of his storytelling with his growing up on a campsite with “52 first cousins, 12 uncles and aunts, my grandparents, second and third cousins, loads of friends of the family.”
They didn’t always have electricity and when finally they did get it, it was for just an hour a night.
“So we had the campfire, which was every night, seven nights a week,” he remembered.
Connors and his brothers would ask to stay up late so they could hear the stories, particularly those from their grandparents.
“In my family, you long to be a storyteller,” he said. “Storytellers are respected. And you get a lot of attention, and of course as kids you want attention.
“It’s a broad term [storyteller] but it encompasses acting, writing, directing and so on,” he added.
Both of Connors’s parents are also “portals” for “When the Road Meets the Sky.” His father, who suffered depression and schizophrenia, died by suicide when the filmmaker was 8. He’d been an important force in his early life, teaching him to read, for example, before he went to school. His mother died during the making of “When the Road Meets the Sky.”
“It was a dark time in my life, making this,” he said. “By the time I completed it, I was beginning to find my faith again.”
He wants people who watch “When the Road Meets the Sky” to become “immersed” in its world.
“They might walk away with different opinions, different evaluations,” he said.
“I hope they will take away something from it. They might hate it. I like strong reactions.”
Once upon a time, Connors told people that he didn’t care about the reviews or the awards. But he didn’t mean it; he did care. Now when he says it, he means it.
“If someone likes it — great. But my mental health is not going to depend on that, my self-esteem is not going to depend on that,” Connors said.
“That’s my faith. Going back to my faith, everything else seems minuscule. I’m doing creativity because I get a buzz out of it.
“Actually I’m freer than I've ever been, because I don’t care any more,” he said. “I only care about the art itself, and the cathartic buzz you get from completing the art. I have something to say. I make it for my reasons.”
Connors has plans to put “When the Road Meets the Sky” on YouTube so that anyone who wants to see it can.
Meanwhile, its American premiere will take place at Village East Cinemas on Saturday of next week at 3 p.m. as part of the 2026 CraicFest. The writer/director will travel from Ireland for the event.
“I feel at home in New York,” he said. “It’s a very special place.
“The Craic every time is special. I love what Terence [Mulligan] is doing. It’s very important that we share our culture and our art,” Connors said. “It’s a very good time to be Irish across the world. It’s probably the best passport to have in the world.”
For tickets go to thecraicfest.com.
