‘Unsung Hero,’ Movie About Family of for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel and Luke Smallbone, To Release Next Year

“Unsung Hero,” a new movie from for KING + COUNTRY’s Joel and Luke Smallbone, will release on April 26, 2024, Lionsgate has announced. The studio, which was involved in the release of “Jesus Revolution” and acquired worldwide distribution rights to “The Chosen,” recently picked up “Unsung Hero,” a film that tells the story of the Smallbone family’s immigration to the U.S. 

”God is the great designer of motherhood and of music: of family and faith,” Joel and Luke told ChurchLeaders. “Those beautiful truths are encapsulated in our parents’ adventurous immigration journey from Australia to America. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be bringing this 90’s music biopic to silver screens across the United States with Lionsgate on April 26, which just so happens to be our parents’ 49th wedding anniversary! See you in theaters.”

‘Unsung Hero’: A Story of a Family’s Faith

Joel and Luke Smallbone are the duo that make up for KING + COUNTRY, a multi-Grammy Award-winning and RIAA Platinum-selling band that has also won numerous Dove Awards. The Smallbones are the younger brothers of Rebecca St. James, herself a Grammy Award-winning and Dove Award-winning artist whose albums “God” and “Pray” were certified Gold by RIAA.

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“I’ve told our family’s story from stage at nearly every concert we’ve ever done,” said Luke Smallbone in an update about the movie. “As many of you may know our dad was a concert promoter in Australia, & on one particular tour things didn’t go very well & we lost everything that we had. He got a job offer in Nashville, & thought it’d be a good idea to bring his 6 kids & his wife (who was pregnant at the time) to America, then shortly afterwards actually lost that job.” 

“It dawned on us about 4 years ago that this story of immigrating from Australia to America & all the adventures & challenges we’ve walked through in between was a story that needed to be told,” Luke continued, “so we made a movie.”

“Unsung Hero” is titled after for KING + COUNTRY’s song of the same name. The duo dedicated that song to their parents, and the movie tells the story of how David and Helen Smallbone and their seven children emigrated from Sydney, Australia, to Nashville, Tennessee, following the demise of David’s music company. 

“Based on a remarkable true story, Helen’s faith stands against all odds and inspires her husband and children to hold onto theirs,” states a synopsis of the film. “With their own dreams on hold, David and Helen begin to realize the musical prowess in their children, who would go on to become two of the most successful acts in Inspirational Music history: five-time Grammy Award-winning artists for KING + COUNTRY and Rebecca St. James.”