More than two decades after Flywheel launched their filmmaking career, Stephen and Alex Kendrick have returned to their first movie for a Brazilian remake. In an interview with ChurchLeaders, Stephen Kendrick said the brothers arrived in Brazil with few contacts and began praying for resources. They soon learned that a group of local pastors had already been praying for five years for something like this to happen.
The new adaptation, Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul, follows a dishonest used-car salesman whose life changes when he surrenders to Jesus Christ. Stephen said the story shows how that decision reaches beyond the man's business dealings and begins to change his marriage.
The idea took shape when the brothers visited Brazil to promote their 2024 film The Forge. Stephen said he was struck by how quickly Brazilian churches were multiplying and training new leaders. When Brazilian Christians approached the brothers about helping develop Christian filmmaking in the country, the Kendricks took the idea to a prayer retreat. They came away convinced they should move forward, even with language barriers, financial challenges and limited connections.
For Stephen, discovering that Brazilian pastors had been praying long before the brothers arrived gave the project a deeper significance. He said the experience strengthened his conviction that God can provide what people need wherever he calls them to serve.
"It's important that we pray with expectancy. And we pray with surrender," Kendrick told ChurchLeaders.
