Good ambition. But please understand Robert Rodriguez shot dozens of video shorts before he made El Mariachi, and knew a ton about filmmaking, or more importantly, what he needed to do in order to pull off a film on no budget. He shot on 16mm MOS (without sound), because a noisy MOS 16mm Arri with lenses was all he could get. You may be more fortunate, but I doubt you will get a better camera for free, especially not a 16mm camera.
I would strongly suggest you use high definition or 16mm (super 16 is fine too if you have the extra budget) for your picture.
Call Kodak or Fuji and ask them directly. If you explain your situation you may be able to get a discount, too.
Seattle Film Institute? (I don't know anything about it but it sounds real official).
Seriously, if you started right now and shot video every day chances are you would not be ready to DP a 35mm feature for 5 years. Theres a lot to learn. Its not hard, but when you're talking 35mm you're talking some serious money flowing through a camera.
You might want to make sure everything you have home built can withstand the weight of a fully loaded 35mm camera (30-60lbs), plus operator if you've designed it to have the op riding on it.
I know Seattle OK, I just shot a short over there and I've had film work done at Alpha Cine and Forde Labs (which have now merged). They're good people to work with. Victory is also in town, as well as a couple of other places, just make sure... if you shoot on 35mm you're going to want a quality transfer, better than a rank, like a davinci spirit or equivelent.