Farewell Ferris Wheel

Carnivals have a delightful place in the American imagination, with childhood memories of family fun, fantasy, and summer love. But rising expenses and changes in U.S. labor patterns mean this national pastime is nearly extinct. Farewell Ferris Wheel, airing Saturday, January 20, 2018 at 10 p.m on WXXI World, is an inside look at the struggles of an industry trying to stay alive by employing Mexican migrant workers with a controversial visa.

Filmed over the span of six years, the film follows a carnival owner, a labor-recruiter, and workers from a small town in Mexico who join the carnival legally on seasonal visas. Farewell Ferris Wheel is an honest on-the-ground portrait of the financial, emotional and physical challenges they all face.