Based on a novel by Kent Nerburn, Neither Wolf Nor Dog, is an audience-financed, independently produced, and self-distributed film shot in 18 days with a minimal crew and a septuagenarian star. In other words, it’s the kind of film Hollywood wouldn’t have touched with a ten-foot pole. That is its strength. Director Steven Lewis Simpson, a native of Scotland, relates the story of a 95-year-old Lakota elder (David Bald Eagle) who enlists the aid of a white reporter (Christopher Sweeney) to turn his diaries into a history book. Shot in the starkly beautiful—yet economically impoverished—regions of South Dakota, the film has been slowly making its way from city to city since 2016. It opens in Los Angeles on Friday.

Laemmle Playhouse, 673 East Colorado Blvd., Pasadena, Fri., Sept. 13, various showtimes; $9-$12. (310) 478-3836, laemmle.com.

Advertising disclosure: We may receive compensation for some of the links in our stories. Thank you for supporting LA Weekly and our advertisers.