BETHEL — The Books 2 Film Club is holding a film screening and book club discussion of “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” at 6 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 25, at The Gem Theater, 23 Cross St. All are welcome to attend. A potluck supper will be served at 6 p.m., the film will be screened at 6:45 p.m. and the book and film discussion will follow the film.

The success of Scottish director Steven Lewis Simpson’s adaptation of the best­selling novel, “Neither Wolf Nor Dog,” defies Hollywood logic. It was audience-financed, had 18 shoot days, a tiny crew, a 95-­year­-old star and a self-­distributed release that started in small towns and is outperforming Hollywood blockbusters in numerous multiplexes. 

Most recently, Oklahoma Film Critics Circle’s Louis Fowler named “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” the number one film of 2017. The film opens at the Gem Theatre on Jan. 25 for four days after successful openings in Brunswick and Waterville.

Based on the best­selling Native American novel by Kent Nerburn, “Neither Wolf Nor Dog” takes audiences on a deeply moving road trip through contemporary and historical Lakota life and culture. Its humor is wry and pulls no punches, introducing deep characters and poignant vignettes that challenge the viewer to see the world a bit differently.

Its star, Dave Bald Eagle, died at the age of 97 last year. For a time his obituary was the most­ read feature in the world on the BBC. NPR’s All Things Considered team debated whether Bald Eagle was “the world’s most interesting man.” Dave Bald Eagle was left for dead during D-Day.

Co-star Christopher Sweeney was awarded the Silver Star from the Gulf War. Yet it was co-star Richard Ray Whitman, who was never in the Armed Services, who spent the most days under fire during the 71-day occupation of Wounded Knee in 1973, where the 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. The film’s climax was filmed at Wounded Knee, sacred ground for its stars.