Filmmaker Alex Kendrick is gearing up for a fascinating theatrical expedition as he and his brother, Stephen, prepare to return to their roots in a truly unique way.
In fact, the brothers are set to release, “Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul,” on Oct. 16, a remake of their popular 2003 movie, “Flywheel.”
“‘Flywheel’ was our very first movie shot in standard definition, not even high definition, over 20 years ago,” Alex Kendrick recently told CBN News. “And [I] kind of fell on my face thinking I could make a good feature film, and it turned out to be pretty low production quality.”
In fact, he said, he almost didn’t release the movie as he didn’t realize at the time how difficult filmmaking can be. Ultimately, though, the brothers proceeded — and the rest is history.
“The only thing I did right was beg God to use it,” Kendrick said. “And my brother Stephen helping me and saying, ‘We need to pray Ephesians 3:20 — that God would do exceedingly abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. So that’s the only thing we did right.”
Despite being green filmmakers at the time, the Kendricks were shocked to see how God showed up. “Flywheel” sold 1.3 million DVDs and had a massive response from audiences — much larger than they could have ever imagined.
“People said once they got over the production quality, like 10 minutes into it, then they were moved by the story, and they would come back and say, ‘I saw a version of myself on the screen,'” Kendrick said. “And the the Lord did what only the Lord can do by touching their hearts, and so we’ve always wanted to remake that, and higher quality over the years.”
That idea started coming to fruition two years ago, when the Kendricks were in Brazil releasing, “The Forge,” another faith-based film. The duo took some young Christian filmmakers through a boot camp and, through that experience and through prayer, the idea was birthed to work with teams there to remake, “Flywheel.”
“The Lord opened the door for us to remake, ‘Flywheel,'” he said. “We instantly got the funding, the support, the distribution, so we reshot it in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in Portuguese, and had wonderful cast and crew that love the Lord help us make it, and so it’s made in their culture, their language. They’re so thrilled about it.”
Kendrick said pre-screenings of the film have left audiences crying and cheering. The movie has now been dubbed for Americans audiences into English. Regardless of the language in which the film is viewed, Kendrick believes audiences will love it.
“This movie that talks about lordship and is now modernized [and] is coming out in theaters Oct. 16,” he said. “Can’t wait to see what the Lord does with this one.”
Kendrick believes this movie is releasing at the right cultural moment, with the main character working as a successful used car salesman when he goes through a very dark time in his life. This man realizes he needs more than his own logic to navigate it all, seeking help in marriage, fatherhood — and more. It’s his newfound faith in Jesus that changes everything.
“We do not need more lukewarm Christians,” Kendrick said. “What we need is Christians who are sold out and truly followers of Jesus Christ.”
He continued, “When people see the life of a Christian, what they don’t need to see is half-hearted commitment to our Savior, and half-hearted integrity. They need to see someone who lives for a higher purpose, because we serve an almighty God and that the way we live bears fruit of that relationship.”
Kendrick is hoping — much like the first “Flywheel” — people see themselves on the screen and confront spiritual issues in their own lives.
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