Local Sightings 2024 – CALL ME MULE [In-Person Only]
Watch in person: Sep. 22 at 4:30pm
Visiting Artist
** Director John McDonald in attendance! **
Ticketing, concessions, cinemas, restrooms, and our public edit lab are located on Northwest Film Forum’s ground floor, which is wheelchair accessible. All doors in Northwest Film Forum are non-motorized, and may require staff assistance to open. Our upstairs workshop room is not wheelchair accessible.
The majority of seats in our main cinema are 21″ wide from armrest to armrest; some seats are 19″ wide. We are working on creating the option of removable armrests!
We have a limited number of assistive listening devices available for programs hosted in our larger theater, Cinema 1. These devices are maintained by the Technical Director, and can be requested at the ticketing and concessions counter. Also available at the front desk is a Sensory Kit you can borrow, which includes a Communication Card, noise-reducing headphones, and fidget toys.
The Forum does NOT have assistive devices for the visually impaired, and is not (yet) a scent-free venue. Our commitment to increasing access for our audiences is ongoing, and we welcome all public input on the subject!
If you have additional specific questions about accessibility at our venue, please contact our Patron Services Manager at suji@nwfilmforum.org. Our phone number (206-329-2629) is voicemail-only, but we check it often.
Made possible due to a grant from Seattle Office of Arts & Culture, in partnership with Sensory Access, our Sensory Access document presents a visual and descriptive walk-through of the NWFF space. View it in advance of attending an in-person event at bit.ly/nwffsocialnarrativepdf, in order to prepare yourself for the experience.
As of August 2024, NWFF has adjusted its mask policy from universally required to strongly encouraged at the majority of screenings. In the interest of accessibility, the requirement is still in place for Thursday night screenings and Saturday and Sunday matinees; occasional exceptions will be noted on each event’s page.
Disposable masks are available at the door for those who need them.
Read more about NWFF’s policies responding to the present pandemic here.
About
(John McDonald, Seattle, WA, 2023, 77 min, in English) WA premiere!
John Sears, who refers to himself as Mule, has been roaming the western United States with his three mules for over thirty years. The 65-year-old and his animals sleep outside, claiming the right to move freely. Bemoaning the loss of open space, urban sprawl and our dependence on the automobile, Mule advocates a simpler way of life in harmony with nature. While Mule has become a minor celebrity on account of his nomadic lifestyle, he is not welcome everywhere. His confrontations with law enforcement have resulted in fines, arrests, even institutionalization. His story may be unusual, but it celebrates the creativity, courage and resilience to choose an extraordinary way of life and defend one’s place in the world. This observational documentary, told in Mule’s own voice, follows his never-ending journey.
BUY TICKETS HERE
- This film will not be available to stream during the festival.
- Purchase your ticket through Brown Paper Tickets; come to the show!
- You can also purchase a ticket on the day of the screening at Northwest Film Forum’s box office (1515 12th Ave, Seattle).
- If you have purchased a Hybrid or In-Person-Only Festival Pass, we’ll be able to look you up at Will Call by the name you purchased under.
Co-presented with Seattle Documentary Association!
Seattle Documentary Association (SeaDoc) is a nonprofit organization with the mission to cultivate and support an equitable and professional community of nonfiction storytellers. SeaDoc was founded more than ten years ago by a group of independent documentary filmmakers dedicated to creating a platform for emerging and established doc filmmakers from the Pacific Northwest. We are a volunteer-run organization, offering year-round programming and events to support the craft of non-fiction storytelling.
Festival Directory
Presented by Seattle’s Northwest Film Forum, the 27th Annual Local Sightings Film Festival is a virtual-and-in-person showcase of creative communities from throughout the Pacific Northwest. The 2024 program, which runs from September 20–29, features a competitive selection of curated short film programs and feature films, inviting regional artists to experiment, break, and remake popular conceptions around filmmaking and film exhibition.
Local Sightings champions emerging and established talent, supports the regional film industry, and promotes diverse media as a critical tool for public engagement.