John Sears, who calls himself 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. Despite arrests, fines, incarcerations and involuntary institutionalization, he keeps on fighting to maintain his nomadic lifestyle.
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. CALL ME MULE documents Mule’s arduous 500-mile journey to deliver a personal message to the Governor of California in defense of his way of life and his right to choose it.
Regardless of how we personally feel about Mule as an individual, the issues he raises concern all of us: preserving open space, individual freedom of movement, access to public land and the system’s treatment of people living outside society’s norms.
CALL ME MULE will make its North American premiere at Salem Film Fest, screening in-person at the Cinema Salem on Saturday, March 25 at 8pm followed by a Q&A with Co-Directors John McDonald and Nina Schwanse. Program Director Jeff Schmidt caught up with the filmmakers ahead of the festival.
CALL ME MULE Co-Directors Nina Schwanse and John McDonald
Jeff Schmidt: You are a father/daughter filmmaking team, can you tell us about your production backgrounds and your decision to work on this film together?
John McDonald: I have always been passionate about making documentaries. My first film, COTTON EYED JOE, which I made as a student at USC’s film school, was shortlisted for an Oscar and garnered awards internationally—including my German wife, who has collaborated with me on many documentary projects. I made several short social issue documentaries, but in order to make a living and raise a family, I had to switch to producing and directing commercials and industrials. After a successful career in that field, I was finally able to return to documentary filmmaking with THE GHOST MOUNTAIN EXPERIMENT (2009), ON THE DAY(2011), and PIPES & STICKS ON ROUTE 66 (2015). CALL ME MULE took ten years to complete and is my first collaboration with my daughter Nina Schwanse. Nina came into the picture well after all the filming was over and I was trying to raise money to hire an editor. When the pandemic began, she was laid off from her assistant editing job at a large TV production company. She let me know that she was available, had a vision for the film, and would work for much less than the standard rate for editors. I said why not; let’s give it go. The rest is history!
Nina Schwanse: I’ve always been more of an artist and for most of my life veered away from any kind of conventional film production, pursuing painting and video/installation art. However, throughout the creative ebbs and flows, my dad and I have always helped each other out— my first gig was a hand model for a Mattel commercial he produced in the 90s, and he’s been the absolute best PA/DP for my bizarre video shoots from my childhood home in California to the New Mexico desert. Eventually Mule brought us together for a truly collaborative effort— I had a vision for the film based on my father’s experimental persuasion from his early years in film school, and I suppose we met in the middle. I currently work as a colorist in Los Angeles.
JS: How did you meet "Mule," John Sears, and was it difficult to convince him to let you tell his story?
JM: One evening, at dusk, I got a call from a friend who lives near me in a suburb of Los Angeles. He told me to hurry down to the end of our street and look east --- and see the subject of my next film. I ran to the corner just as a somewhat disheveled older man walked by, leading three fully loaded pack mules! He ignored me. I noticed a crudely stenciled website address, 3mules.com, on one of the mule’s panniers. Curious, I went to the site and found only one page with these words:
"We are mules. We are from the outside. We live outside all day, every day. We have come to this place -- a place of golden sparkling light, a place for anybody and everybody. Give your faith, hope and energy to this place at which time you connect to it and receive the magic and endless possibility of infinity. As you walk in this place with these mules you spread the awareness that this beautiful earth, like no other, can only be protected by the way we live one day at a time."
Now I was even more intrigued, so I chased him down. We exchanged a few words, but he was rather cranky and wanted to move on. However, he asked me for directions, and that was enough to give me a clue as to where he might be spending the night. As he was leaving, I asked him what his name was. He said to just call him Mule.
The next morning was Christmas Eve. I had thought about Mule all night and what a unique life he led. Would he be a good character for a documentary? My whole family had come together for the holidays, and I was reluctant to go off on a wild goose (or mule) chase. But as a documentary filmmaker, I sensed a good story. The dog needed a walk anyway, so I headed out in search of the guy with the mules. No luck at first, but then I found him, already packing up to start on the next leg of his trip to who knows where.
He accepted a cup of coffee that I had brought with me. He talked a bit, very softly. With some reluctance he allowed me to retrieve the video camera from my car. Surprisingly, with the camera running, he talked more and with intensity, his eyes closed and his head bent forward, concentrating on every word he said.
This is what I learned. Mule and his animals have traveled for nearly three decades through sixteen states and into Mexico. For the last ten years they have lived every single day outdoors. Throughout his travels Mule has noticed an ever-increasing urban sprawl. Open spaces where they once moved through freely and sometimes spent the night, are disappearing. More and more cars are filling up the roadways, and the expanding urban infrastructure seems to serve just one purpose: accommodate more automobiles.
I asked Mule if he would consider letting me tag along with him on his journey and do more filming. He said yes, with the caveat that I would help him develop his website and social media presence. It seemed like a fair trade with benefits for both of us.
Little did I know at the time that I would be traveling with The Mules off and on for 27 months, up and down the state of California through noisy cities, quiet neighborhoods, and the backcountry wilderness. There was no crew involved in the production. Our shared experiences during his travels helped to develop a relationship of mutual trust and respect. We enjoyed each other’s company and looked forward to spending time together. We became friends.
Nina Schwanse editing CALL ME MULE
JS: What was your production timeline on the film?
JM: I began shooting on December 24, 2012 and filmed my last shot in March of 2015. I spent 200 days with John and his mules. Some days I got some good footage, other days I did not, and occasionally I did no filming at all. For the next several years I applied for grants, cutting together various demos and scene selects with various editors. I only received two small grants totalling around $10,000. The New York Times OpDocs people took an interest in the project and asked if I'd be willing to edit a short piece for them to consider publishing. I did, but in the end they said it was "not a good fit." When the pandemic arrived, Nina was out of a job and asked if she could take a go at editing the film, so I said why not. She had had some experience making short experimental films for her art installations but had never edited a full-length film. Starting from scratch, she threw out everything that had been previously edited and took an entirely different approach from what I had originally envisioned. My cinematography provided her with a large piece of rough stone, and for two years, on and off, she chiseled away and sculpted it into a beautiful piece of art. Nina found a way to tell a story within my three-hundred hours of footage and deservedly is credited as co-director.
JS: What is "Mule" up to now and how does he feel about the film?
JM: He seems to be staying around the area of Bakersfield, California with his two new mules and traveling as much as he used to. He was given a "life pass" to roam and live at the Wind Wolves Preserve in Kern County which is part of The Wildlands Conservancy.
NS: Unfortunately Mule became paranoid about the documentary making “Hollywood money” off of his message, and communication with him became difficult. I tracked Mule down based on his social media posts and caught up with him on the “Old Road” near Six Flags Magic Mountain in Santa Clarita, CA. This was my first meeting with the “mules” in the flesh. I delivered a handwritten letter explaining our good intentions, and told him the film was completed, that I was John’s daughter, etc. He smiled warmly and philosophized… “How ‘bout that?”… He had always said “the energy” would surface to complete the film, and I believe he’s satisfied that his prophecy came true.
CALL ME MULE screens in-person at Cinema Salem on Saturday, March 25 at 8pm followed by a Q&A with Co-Directors John McDonald and Nina Schwanse - tickets available here.
The film is also available for streaming during the virtual portion of the festival, March 27 - April 2 - tickets available here.
