Farewell Ferris Wheel

GALLERY

ABOUT THE FILM

Producers/Directors: Jamie Sisley and Miguel Martinez

Genre: Documentary

Program Length: 60 Minutes

Broadcast Date: October 10, 2017 on World Channel (America Reframed)

FAREWELL FERRIS WHEEL explores how the U.S. carnival industry fights to keep itself alive by legally employing Mexican migrant workers through the use of the controversial work visa, H-2B. The film spends six years examining the carnival industry’s labor struggles by following a carnival owner, a labor recruiter, and two workers from Tlapacoyan, Veracruz, a small Mexican town that is home to nearly one third of all carnival laborers.

FAREWELL FERRIS WHEEL is a co-production of Kola Pictures and Independent Television Service (ITVS), produced in association with KAET / Arizona PBS, and Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

Jamie Sisley (Producer/Director)

Jamie’s latest narrative film, “Stay Awake,” premiered at the 2015 Berlin Film Festival, won the Jury Prize at the Slamdance Film Festival, and received the National Board of Review Short Film Prize. He will soon be premiering his first feature documentary, Farewell Ferris Wheel, which won the Creative Promise Award from the Tribeca Film Institute. Prior to filmmaking, Jamie worked with artists such as the Dave Mathews Band and Tim McGraw as a manager in the music Industry. He earned a B.S. in Business from the University of Virginia, and an M.F.A. in Film Directing/Screenwriting from Columbia University.

Miguel Martinez (Producer/Director)

Miguel “M.i.G.” Martinez moved to the U.S. from San Miguel de Allende, Mexico at the age of ten. He began his career by hosting and producing the first Spanish/English bilingual radio show in Virginia. In 2008, Miguel started production on his first feature film, Farewell Ferris Wheel, with fellow Virginian, Jamie Sisley. The film was selected for Film Independent’s Documentary Lab and Firelight Media Producer’s Lab. Miguel is currently collaborating with the Grammy Award winning group, Ozomatli, on a series of music videos, as well as continuing to pursue his passion for photography with clients such as Carlos Santana and Barco’s Nightingale foundation.