Badly scarred in a childhood accident, Violet boards a bus in North Carolina on a pilgrimage to Oklahoma to visit a TV preacher, the one that heals. On the bus, she meets two soldiers on their way to Fort Smith. The film won the Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film in 1982.
Acting
Didi Conn's raw, unshowy transformation from Grease sweetheart.
Writing
Dialogue that breathes—every silence says more than speech.
Director
Shelley Levinson
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This beat out Spielberg-produced shorts to win the Oscar—Levinson was 27 and had never directed before.
Shot during the real 1980s televangelism boom; the film's skepticism about miracle culture feels even sharper now.
CA
