‘Flywheel’ comes home as Kendrick brothers bring Brazilian remake to Albany

ALBANY — Twenty-three years after a $20,000 movie made with church volunteers launched their filmmaking careers, Alex and Stephen Kendrick returned Thursday to the Albany theater where “Flywheel” first reached an audience — this time with a Brazilian cast telling the story.

The screening of “Flywheel: Ignition of the Soul” brought the brothers together with moviegoers and lead actor Mario Bregieira ahead of the film’s nationwide release Oct. 16. Shot in Portuguese in Rio de Janeiro, the remake carries a story rooted in Albany to a new setting and generation.

For Stephen Kendrick, the return was “beautiful and redemptive.”

“We had not seen the whole movie from beginning to end when it showed the first time in the theater,” he said of the original premiere. “We were rendering and editing all night.”

The first “Flywheel,” released April 9, 2003, follows Jay Austin, a dishonest used-car salesman played by Alex Kendrick whose business practices have damaged his relationships with his wife and son. While restoring a classic convertible, he begins confronting his own conduct and turns to his faith to rebuild his life. 

It was the first feature from Sherwood Pictures, the filmmaking ministry of Albany’s Sherwood Baptist Church. Church members provided money, volunteered and opened their homes and businesses to the production.

Stephen Kendrick said the filmmakers used Georgia Motors on Slappey Boulevard for the dealership scenes. The movie was intended primarily for the local community, but audiences kept coming.

Alex Kendrick recalled hearing from people who visited the church after watching it and recognized their own marriages or business decisions in the story. What was supposed to be a brief theatrical run stretched to six weeks.

“The theater manager would call us and say, ‘We’re going to keep you guys for another week,’” he said.

Demand followed the film onto DVD. Alex Kendrick said an unsolicited copy reached Blockbuster, which ordered 7,000 DVDs, leaving the church scrambling to fill the request. Christian bookstores began calling, too.

The brothers’ filmmaking grew from their work in ministry. Alex joined Sherwood’s staff in 1999, and Stephen followed close behind in 2001. Their early films included “Facing the Giants,” “Fireproof” and “Courageous.” In 2013, they expanded beyond the church, bringing their older brother, Shannon, into the business operation, with later projects including “War Room,” “Overcomer” and “The Forge.” 

But they continued to see possibilities in their first story.

The brothers described the remake as their 10th movie, bringing them back to the story that launched their filmmaking careers. Asked whether that milestone helped explain the choice, the response was simple: “How could we not?”

Alex Kendrick said the original’s standard-definition footage was one reason to revisit it. The new production offered better equipment and an opportunity to update the story for a world of smartphones and social media.

He said the filmmakers “tailored some of the other scenes to fit the culture today.”

Brazil became the setting after strong responses there to the brothers’ films and requests from Brazilian filmmakers for training, Stephen Kendrick said. The brothers held a filmmaking boot camp, and the relatively small cast and limited locations made “Flywheel” a practical story to revisit.

The remake centers on Noah Silva, a used-car salesman whose choices threaten his business and family. As in the original, his effort to repair those relationships requires him to confront his dishonesty.

Thursday’s audience could choose between Portuguese dialogue with English subtitles and an English-dubbed version. Alex planned to watch the subtitled showing; Stephen planned to join the dubbed screening.

For Bregieira, who plays Noah, visiting Albany also meant seeing where the story began. He said he visited a main filming location from the original earlier Thursday.

“It was so special,” he said.

Bregieira watched the original before filming and looked to its leading man as he developed his own performance.

“My inspiration was Alex,” he said.

His wife, actress Pérola Faria, also appears in the film. Bregieira said they met through a Brazilian soap opera but had not previously worked together in the way they did on this production, playing a couple.

For audience member Tim Johnson, who said he first watched “Flywheel” about 15 years ago, the story had outlasted the limitations of the original production.

“It’s one of my favorite storylines,” Johnson said.

Stephen Kendrick said the remake could introduce that story to people who had never seen the 2003 film.

“I think the message is relevant for any culture and any generation,” he said.

For Alex Kendrick, the hope was that viewers would think about how their own decisions affect their families and others.

“When we honor God with the way we live our lives, our marriages, parenting, our businesses, it has a ripple effect that changes lives,” he said.

From church volunteers and borrowed locations to international productions, the brothers’ filmmaking has grown far beyond its beginnings in Albany. Their roots remain here.

“We still call Albany home,” Stephen Kendrick said.