A teenage runaway joins the carnival—because family drama needed more cotton candy and existential dread.
Talented musician and free spirit Libby chafes under the rule of her divorced journalist mother, so she seeks emancipation from her parents and hits the road, soon joining the ranks of a traveling carnival. She gains the freedom she has longed for but learns some hard lessons along the way.
Acting
Mare Winningham's raw, yearning performance carries every frame.
Production
Gritty carnival atmosphere feels authentically lived-in.
Director
Joseph Sargent
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mare Winningham recorded original songs for the film, though the soundtrack was never officially released.
This TV movie captures a specific early-80s anxiety: teenagers terrified of becoming their divorced parents, seeking 'authentic' experiences in increasingly commercialized spaces.
US
