Peru native Johnny Derango’s new film, ‘Unsung Hero,’ debuts this week

When Johnny Derango was a teen sitting in the projection booth at the Peru Mall Cinema, splicing together movies while making sure all was functioning well in the late-night showings, it was the beginning of a dream.

Little did he know that one day he would have a film he worked on playing in that very theater. In fact, it would be showing not just there but also in 2,500 theaters across the country.

It would be the most significant film of his life.

Derango is a native of Peru and a 1998 graduate of La Salle-Peru High School. Now he is one of the most sought-after directors of photography in the film industry

He is as anxious as he is proud that his most recent movie, “Unsung Hero,” will have its premiere this weekend – including in the same theater where his love of movies started.

It can be seen locally starting Thursday: – at 6 p.m. at the Peru Mall Cinema; at 6:30 p.m. at the Roxy Cinema in Ottawa; at 10:35 a.m., 1:20 p.m., 4:05 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. at the Streator Eagle 6; and at 6:15 p.m. at AMC Classic Morris 10.

“Unsung Hero,” is based on the true story of David Smallbone, who leaves Australia with his pregnant wife and their seven children to find a new life in America. Once there, they discover the musical talent of their children, Joel and Luke Smallbone, who go on to become one of the most successful acts in music history, the duo For King & Country.

“In 22 years of doing this, this is the most special film I’ve ever been a part of,” said Derango, who resides in Los Angeles with his wife and children. “When I first heard of it, I thought it was a story of how the band became the band, but it’s not that at all. It’s the story of a family, about people rallying around other people, propping each other up, about struggle, hardship and getting through it.

“Usually at this point after a film, I’m thinking about people seeing my work, but this movie’s is different. I really want people to see it because I feel it could change lives, it could really inspire people, a story of faith, family, sticking together and the goodness of people. It’s so positive and I’ve never had that before. … This has a real message.”

Distributed by Lionsgate, produced by Justin Tolley, Josh Walsh and Luke Smallbone and directed by Joel Smallbone and Richard Ramsey, the film stars Candace Cameron Bure and Johnathan Jackson.

The film came along at just the right time for Derango, who had just finished a dark action film in Texas he called “the most trying one of his career.” It left him feeling the need to reevaluate the kind of films he wanted to make.

Finally, he said he “felt a calling” to use his talents to make something more positive and uplifting, such as the Christian films made by the Erwin brothers and the Kingdom Story Company. He contacted them and a day after his first meeting with Andrew Erwin, he called Derango and connected him with the producers of “Unsung Hero.”

“Then suddenly, there I was, in the city that almost broke me, having the single best experience of my career (with Unsung Hero),” Derango said. “From the lowest low to the highest high, I put it all on my faith. I prayed a lot about it and I felt guided. It’s such a beautiful story about faith and family.”

Family has had a powerful effect in his own life. Instilled with a solid work ethic by his father, Dr. John Derango, and his mother, Dianne, Johnny found his love of film to be a respite, making his job at the Peru Mall theater in 1999 “the greatest job a high school kid could have” and trips to the Midwest Video store more frequent.

“I just tried to find the obscure movie titles, things that won festivals and were interesting but that nobody had heard of,” he said. “I loved it. For me, it was just pure entertainment for me, an escape.”

Johnny’s passion for action movies almost took him into law enforcement, but his parents’ suggested he find a safer career “opened the perfect door” for him to get into film. He ended up enrolling at Columbia College’s film school.

“I was quite relieved because I knew I wouldn’t have to buy him a bullet-proof vest for graduation,” Dianne said. “He sprung (the movie career) on us and we were like, ‘OK, everyone needs to have a dream and fulfill it. Now he’s doing that, he’s working hard and he’s doing what he really enjoys. ... It’s quite exciting. It’s nice to see people seeing his accomplishments.”

Initially, Johnny wanted to be a director. His first teacher was the legendary Ronn Pitts, a filmmaker who rose to prominence documenting the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s and 1970s and who also was the first black professor at Columbia.

“Thankfully, he saw something in me,” Johnny said. “He showed me that you could tell a story as much through the visuals as well as the actors. There was something so visceral about it that I fell in love with the camera.”

Johnny said the biggest moment of his career came when he met Mel Gibson on the set of the 2020 film, “Fatman.”

That ultimately led to his next work, “Flight Risk,” starring Mark Wahlberg, Topher Grace and Michelle Dockery. No release date has been set for “Flight Risk.”

“I never know what my schedule is going to look like,” Johnny said. “But there are a lot of good days on the horizon.”