Ben and Joel Smallbone Nearly Walked Away From ‘Drummer Boy’ Before a Coffee Shop Reconciliation

By the time Joel Smallbone flew to Utah to see his brother Ben, both men had already said they wouldn't make Drummer Boy together. They had spent years working on a Christmas musical about brothers divided by war. Now a dispute of their own had put the film in doubt. When they finally sat down in a coffee shop, they cried, hugged and apologized for what they had said to each other.

In a November 4 interview with ChurchLeaders, Ben traced their partnership back to their teens, when a film festival win made him think they might be able to make movies for a living. They went on to make 28 music videos together. Then, about three years ago, a conflict that Ben described as both personal and professional brought the partnership to a breaking point. Each told the other he might never work with him again.

The Apology Came Before the Film

When the opportunity to make Drummer Boy came around again about a year ago, both brothers initially refused to do it together. Joel eventually flew to Utah, where Ben was working on the television series Homestead. Ben remembers the two of them apologizing for words they had said and deciding, in that same conversation, to make the film together.

Ben described the year that followed as one in which they were still working through forgiveness and reconciliation. By his account, getting back to work was one of the first decisions the brothers made after apologizing. It also meant spending the next year working side by side on a story about what it takes for a family to come back together.

Two Brothers on Opposite Sides of the Revolution

Ben and Joel co-directed the musical, which follows Jeremiah and Benjamin Clem as the American Revolutionary War reaches their family. One brother serves the British Crown. The other joins the Patriot cause as a drummer boy. Joel plays Jeremiah opposite Lucas Leach as Benjamin, and for KING + COUNTRY, Joel's duo with their brother Luke, contributed original music.

Ben said he sees God's hand in the timing of the film and hopes it will encourage families living with division to pursue reconciliation. For the Smallbones, that began when Joel made the trip to Utah and the two brothers sat down to talk about what they had said to each other.

Drummer Boy opens in U.S. and Canadian theaters Friday, November 6. Australian screenings are listed from Thursday, November 5.