Elijah Peel may be named after a troubled rock star, but the film's biggest talking point could be the nine-year-old newcomer who walked onto her first feature film - and walked away with a Best Lead Actress trophy.
Opening exclusively in theaters nationwide this weekend, EKKL Entertainment's new faith-based drama arrives with some recognizable names attached, including Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson as executive producers and God's Not Dead veteran Kevin Sorbo in the cast. But it is young Evelyn Grace Kite who has given the movie its irresistible underdog story.
Kite, who makes her feature-film debut as Jessica Sanchez, became the first child ever to win Best Lead Actress at the International Christian Film & Music Festival, beating a field of adult nominees. The movie also took Best Picture and Best Director at the 2026 festival.
And that is quite an entrance.
Jessica is the terminally ill nine-year-old whose faith collides with the spectacularly messy life of Elijah Peel, a stadium-filling rocker brought crashing back to earth after addiction and a heart attack. Robert Malcolm Cumming plays Elijah, while Sorbo appears as Rock Diamond, the longtime manager forced to watch his superstar client unravel.
Behind all that fictional rock-star excess is a story that gets considerably more personal.
Writer, producer and co-director Kevin D. Sepe drew heavily upon his own battle with addiction and recovery while creating the film. Sepe has stressed that Elijah Peel is not literally his biography, but has acknowledged that it contains numerous truths and parallels to his life. After years of addiction and brushes with death, he found sobriety, embraced his faith and rebuilt his life.
That may explain why Elijah Peel reportedly took around 15 years to reach the screen. Sepe was writing music alongside the screenplay long before cameras rolled, even drafting the movie's closing song before he knew what its melody would sound like.
Willie and Korie Robertson, who previously helped bring The Blind to audiences, eventually came aboard as executive producers after connecting with the movie's emphasis on faith, redemption and unexpected relationships.
Yet the film's secret weapon remains Kite.
Watch the Official trailer
The LaGrange, Georgia youngster is one of six performing siblings known as Chasing KiteStrings and has also appeared in ABC's 9-1-1: Nashville. Now, at just nine, she finds herself sharing a movie with seasoned performers while carrying much of its emotional weight.
That creates a rather delicious irony: Elijah Peel is about a world-famous musician accustomed to commanding stadiums, yet the person attracting some of the loudest attention as the movie opens is a child making her feature debut.
The film also gives Cumming an unusually musical leading role. A musician before becoming an actor, he performs Elijah's vocals himself. Sepe produced the original soundtrack, which includes "Life Too Short, Story Too Old," "River Deep," "Can You Feel It," "The Wild Ones" and "Not an Ordinary Love."
Shot around Memphis, Tennessee, Elijah Peel is rated PG-13 and runs 1 hour and 47 minutes.
For Sepe, however, the long road to release appears to be about considerably more than box-office numbers. He has described the movie as "soul food" and its purpose as ministry rather than simply commercial success.
After addiction, near-death experiences, 15 years of development and a first-time child actress unexpectedly making festival history, Elijah Peel finally has its theatrical moment.
And in a movie about a superstar discovering that the person who changes your life may be the one you least expect, it seems strangely fitting that its nine-year-old newcomer is threatening to steal the show.
