(WELLS) The success of British director, Steven Lewis Simpson’s adaptation of the bestselling novel,
Neither Wolf Nor Dog, defies logic—Hollywood logic that is. Produced and financed by his UK
company, with 18 shoot days in the U.S.’s poorest region, a crew of two and a 95-year-old lead actor,
the US self-distributed release was launched in small towns and outperformed Hollywood blockbusters
in numerous multiplexes. Without a booker or publicist, the film has run in over 200 cinemas and 200
other venues so far in the US, and yet it has barely left the Northern Plains and Northwest. It is now
the most successful non-Hollywood US Native American themed film in years and has the longest US
first-run theatrical release of any movie in over a decade. Simpson outlined his unique release
strategies in the first-ever film distribution TEDx Talk. Its Rottentomatoes audience score is 4.7/5 95%.
After locals requested it, the Wells Film Centre will be screening Neither Wolf Nor Dog on the 13th ad
15th of October. The film has been packing cinemas and two community cinemas in Scotland had
their biggest ever turnouts. Led Zeppelin’s Robert Plant, got the novel’s UK Edition published.
Neither Wolf Nor Dog takes the audience on a deeply moving road trip through contemporary Lakota
life. Its humour is wry and pulls no punches, introducing deep characters and poignant vignettes that
challenge the viewer to see the world a bit differently. It is thematically like Green Book, but with true
cultural depth, unlike Green Book’s “racism by the numbers” approach. The film’s star, Dave Bald
Eagle, died at 97. For a time his obituary was the BBC’s most-read story. NPR debated whether he
was “the world’s most interesting man.” It’s Simpson’s third Pine Ridge Indian Reservation film.
Natives regard his work so highly, he was asked to make the first series for a 24/7 US Native station.
Dave Bald Eagle was left for dead on D-Day. Christopher Sweeney was awarded the Silver Star from
the Gulf War. Yet it was the film’s other star, Richard Ray Whitman, that spent the most days under
fire during the 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973, where the US government fired hundreds
of thousands of bullets at American Indian Movement activists. Dave Bald Eagle had relatives at the
infamous Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890 and improvised the film’s climax at Wounded Knee. He
said after, “I’ve been holding that in for 95-years” This wasn’t your average movie shoot.
“The Lagoon’s opening weekend of NEITHER WOLF NOR DOG was the best weekend gross in the
entire country. It’s nice to see that beautifully told stories can still find an audience.”
Hugh Wronski Senior Regional Publicist, Landmark Theatres
“By the time the end credits arrive, the characters of this modest, crowdfunded feature are practically
unforgettable. It’s immensely serious but no downer.”
Colin Covert – Star Tribune ★★★1⁄2 out of four stars
“Bury the white saviour complex at Wounded Knee” Reddirt Report ★★★★★ Review: https://tinyurl.com/ycbcfgvu Top film of 2017 Oklahoma Film Critics Circle reviewer Louis Fowler https://goo.gl/wynFSg
For interviews, or more information contact:
Magdalena Kalaydjian
InYo Entertainment
020 8123 6044
inyomedia@gmail.com
Media photos: https://tinyurl.com/y8ujvgw7
Contact Gi Grimsby
Email us: news@gi-media.co.uk
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