Peanut for Mayor

On the night of Vancouver’s mayoral election, Western Front is pleased to premiere Peanut for Mayor, a 30 minute documentary by Andrew Muir and Greg Bartels that uncovers the larger-than-life true story of the Mr. Peanut Campaign, told by the people who were behind it.

Vancouver’s 1974 mayoral election was predicted to be dreary and uneventful, and had garnered little public attention. The incumbent mayor was projected to win by a significant margin, and there were no major issues. However, that year the people of Vancouver witnessed one of the strangest and most memorable political campaigns ever to occur. It was the year a nut ran for mayor.

On November 2nd, The Vancouver Sun ran a cover story about a new mayoral candidate mysteriously dubbed “Mr. Peanut”. Complete with a hard outer shell, cane, tap shoes, and a stately monocle, Mr. Peanut had an air of subdued distinction.

Throughout his electoral campaign – which lasted for 20 days – Mr. Peanut appeared on the streets, at all-candidates meetings, and in televised debates. He was trailed by reporters everywhere he went. Everybody was talking about Mr. Peanut. But who was he? Where did he come from? And what was his platform?

The screening of the film will be followed by an Q&A with the filmmakers.

For those who can’t attend in person, the film will be available to stream for 24 hours from 8 p.m. here.

Director: Andrew Muir
Cinematographer: Greg Bartels

Starring:
Vincent Trasov
Michael Morris
Eric Metcalfe
Glenn Lewis
Elizabeth Vander Zaag
Lin Bennet
Hank Bull

Accessibility

The Grand Luxe Hall is located on the second floor, which is accessed by a flight of 26 stairs. The second floor is not currently accessible to wheelchair users. Further details about accessibility at Western Front can be found here.