''Neither Wolf Nor Dog'' is a feature film from Scottish director

Steven Lewis Simpson Steven Lewis Simpson is an independent film and documentary filmmaker from Aberdeen, Scotland. His films include ''Rez Bomb'', ''Neither Wolf Nor Dog, The Ticking Man, Retribution, Ties,'' a feature documentary ''A Thunder-Being Nation'' that w ...

, adapted from Kent Nerburn's novel of the same name, which won a Minnesota Book Awards in 1995. The film's festival premiere was at the

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF), established in 1947, is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all titles are World, international, European or UK Premieres), in al ...

in 2016. Simpson released it himself directly into U.S. cinemas in 2017 and it was still in first-run cinemas in 2019, which makes it the longest first-run theatrical release in the U.S. in over a decade. Due to the success of his self-distributed release, Simpson was asked to give a

TEDx Talk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "Ideas Change Everything" (previously "Ideas Worth Sprea ...

on his innovative distribution model. The film stars Chief Dave Bald Eagle in the lead role as a Lakota elder. He was 95 years old at the time of filming and it was his first starring role in a film. The film also stars Christopher Sweeney as Nerburn, Richard Ray Whitman as Grover,

Roseanne Supernault Roseanne Supernault (born 1993) is a Canadian film and television actress, best known for her roles as Natalie Stoney in the television series '' Blackstone'' and as the title character in the 2013 film '' Maïna''. Originally from East Prairie, A ...

as the twins Wenonah and Danelle,

Tatanka Means Tatanka Wanbli Sapa Xila Sabe Means (born February 19, 1985) is an American actor and comedian, of Oglala Lakota, Omaha, Yankton Dakota, and Diné descent. He is best known for his roles in '' Killers of the Flower Moon'' and'' The Son''. Actin ...

as Delvin,

Zahn McClarnon Zahn Tokiya-ku McClarnon is a Native American actor. Since 2022, he has played the lead role of Joe Leaphorn in the AMC series ''Dark Winds'', of which he is also an executive producer. He first came to prominence with key supporting performanc ...

as Billy, and Harlen Standing Bear, Sr, as Jumbo. The film was primarily shot on

Pine Ridge Indian Reservation The Pine Ridge Indian Reservation (), also called Pine Ridge Agency, is an Oglala Lakota Indian reservation located in the U.S. state of South Dakota, with a small portion extending into Nebraska. Originally included within the territory of the ...

, which borders

South Dakota South Dakota (; Sioux language, Sioux: , ) is a U.S. state, state in the West North Central states, North Central region of the United States. It is also part of the Great Plains. South Dakota is named after the Dakota people, Dakota Sioux ...

and Nebraska, and had scenes shot in Los Angeles and

Rushville, Nebraska Rushville is a city in Sheridan County, Nebraska, United States, in the remote Sandhills Region. Its population was 890 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Sheridan County. Description Rushville was named from Rush Creek. In the Lako ...

. One scene was shot in the same remote trailer house as a scene in the acclaimed film ''The Rider''. The film is notable for a climactic scene shot at Wounded Knee, where the script and the novel were thrown away and Dave Bald Eagle improvised the whole scene from his heart, as his family had a closer connection to the

Wounded Knee Massacre The Wounded Knee Massacre, also known as the Battle of Wounded Knee, involved nearly three hundred Lakota people killed by soldiers of the United States Army. More than 250 people of the Lakota were killed and 51 wounded (4 men and 47 women a ...

of 1890 than even the character he was playing. At the end of filming the scene, he turned to Christopher Sweeney, who was acting opposite him, and said, "I've been holding that in for 95 years". Dave Bald Eagle saw the film before he died and he said, "It's the only film I've been in about my people that told the truth." On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

, the film has an approval rating of 82% based on reviews from 17 critics. Simpson has also self-distributed the film into other markets, including Canada, the United Kingdom, and Bulgaria so far. ''Box Office'' magazine profiled for the cinema industry in the US the success of the film's innovative release strategy

References

Year of work missing Films based on American novels {{US-novel-stub