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Getting people to see a movie in a theater is a craft seemingly as mysterious as anything done to make the movie itself. It’s also one that is open to a wide degree of creativity, as proved by the degree of success Steven Lewis Simpson has achieved for his indie feature “Neither Wolf nor Dog.”

“I opened in certain theaters where I knew the film would do well,” says Simpson, who wrote, directed, produced, shot and edited the picture, and says it has had the longest first theatrical run of any film this decade. “Neither Wolf nor Dog” premiered Jan. 20, 2017, on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota and went on to play small towns across the northern United States. It’s played in theaters in a dozen states, and is still booking them. The movie comes for the first time to the Los Angeles area with a run that started Sept.

Independent filmmaker Steven Lewis Simpson takes on many roles in “Neither Wolf Nor Dog”: He simultaneously serves as a director, producer, cinematographer, editor and co-screenwriter, and for some films, having the director serve in many roles benefits the storytelling.

However, in this particular movie (which is based on co-screenwriter Kent Nerburn’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name), it would have behooved Simpson to consult others — not just regarding direction, editing and writing, but perhaps just to speak to someone else before taking on this particular narrative and creating yet another Native American story told through a white man’s lens that benefits absolutely no one.

Kent Nerburn receives a mysterious call from a Native American woman who says her grandfather requested she call him, and that Newburn needs to come meet with him. Although hesitant (and seemingly angry) about it, Kent drives more than 400 miles to meet with the elderly grandfather,...