Originally published in The Christian Post
When filmmaker Daniel Kooman talks about his upcoming film Daniel, he doesn’t start with the impressive $1.2 million (R21.85 million) raised through crowdfunding or the exotic filming locations in India; he starts with the Holy Spirit.
“I don’t think you can make a Bible story without the Holy Spirit, at least not accurately,” Kooman, who founded UnveilTV with his brothers, Matthew and Andrew, and serves as the director-producer at Unveil Studios, told The Christian Post. “It influences everything from script to screen.”
For Kooman, who co-directed and wrote Daniel alongside his brother Matthew, the Holy Spirit is the active force that guides decisions, shapes the storytelling and brings biblical truth to life on screen. It’s also why, in his opinion, many mainstream films attempting to bring biblical epics to life have failed (Russell Crowe’s 2014 flop Noah, for example).
“We have a team where many of the people are Spirit-filled,” he said. “So you have that helper, that support system built in, where you’re getting direction and leaning on Scripture in a deeper way. The failure of a lot of these other Bible films that came out is that they weren’t done by believers, and they weren’t done with an honor to the text. Which is literally paramount.”
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According to the film’s website, Daniel follows the “first dramatic months of the Jewish exile into Babylon,” where “Daniel and his brave friends are put to the test as the armies of Babylon take over Jerusalem”.
“Under the shrewd and powerful Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego prosper by winning the king’s trust, but they earn powerful enemies along the way,” reads the film’s description.
“Facing danger at every turn, the story climaxes at the fiery furnace, where they will be called to make the ultimate sacrifice, and decide once and for all whether they are willing to stand for the truth, even in the face of certain death.”
Backed by one of the most successful faith-based crowdfunding campaigns in recent memory, “Daniel” raised $1.2 million to fund its production, a clear signal, Kooman said, that audiences are hungry for something more.
“At the end of the day, we’ve been starved of faith-based entertainment,” he reflected. “If you think about the number of films released, whether that be to streaming or in theaters, there’s such a small percentage that are faith movies — especially biblical movies. Why are there not five to 10 Bible movies coming out every year?”
The success of projects like Dallas Jenkins’ The Chosen and Wonder Project’s House of David, he added, shows there’s a growing demand for biblically grounded content.
“We’ve been developing the ‘Daniel’ movie for a couple of years because we’ve known for many years that biblical films are really what the faith audience is looking for,” he said. “Now that it’s actually becoming available, and people can be a part of it, that just really drove the crowdfund to amazing heights. People are like, ‘Yeah, this is exactly what we want.’”
Kooman described the film, also from the executive producer of I Can Only Imagine, as “a timeless epic about overcoming the impossible,” a phrase he said reflects both the scope of the story and the spirit of the characters.
“Growing up, all of my favourite movies, if I were to give you my top 10, they’re basically all epics,” he added, citing classics like The Ten Commandments and Ben-Hur, as well as more mainstream epics like Gladiator and Braveheart.
The Daniel story, he said, has the weight, drama and visual grandeur to stand among them.
“The timeless story of overcoming the impossible really speaks to the story of Daniel and his three friends,” Kooman said. “They were going into Babylon, which was hell, and when they encountered the fiery furnace, that was like going into hell inside of hell.”
“In that place, you have no one to turn to but the Lord. And I think their story of faith, depending on the Lord in the midst of those impossible circumstances, is really profound.”
Filming is set to begin this fall in India, a choice Kooman says came after carefully weighing cost, accessibility and visual potential.
“It had to be a country that we could afford to shoot an independent movie in. It had to have the logistical access to get cast and crew there. And ideally, it would offer tax credits,” he says. “India ticked all those boxes. But more than that, it really matched the look of what ancient Babylon would have looked like, based on drawings and historical reports.”
The production team is using private, converted military compounds, now palaces and resorts, with ornate architecture and preserved grandeur: “They represent this beautiful, golden kingdom feel. It really matched what we envisioned for Babylon,” he said.
The film will also feature a new version of the worship anthem Awesome God, recorded by Michael W Smith. The collaboration came through the composer, Tyler Michael Smith, Michael W Smith’s son, who was already working on the score.
“I believe it was really a God direction,” Kooman said. “We were envisioning a teaser trailer; how do we capture people’s attention and show the story of Daniel through music?”
“The lyrics are perfect for the fiery furnace,” he added. “It’s been a really cool collaboration … to bring this gritty, epic retake on ‘Awesome God,’ which was written by Rich Mullins but made popular by Michael W Smith. I think it’s one of the coolest versions yet.”
Though many Hollywood biblical adaptations stray from Scripture, Kooman said he’s intent on staying true to the text. The film, vetted by pastors, theologians and biblical historians, covers Chapters 1–3 of the book of Daniel, and Kooman said the goal is to inspire viewers to dive into the Bible themselves.
“If it doesn’t make people want to pick up and authenticate it through the Bible, I think you’ve completely missed the mark,” he says. “Our goal is that people will have a hunger for the Word and actually get into the book of Daniel and into the rest of the Bible. That would be an incredible win.”
Feedback from biblical scholars so far has been affirming, he said, adding: “We have a Hebrew Old Testament scholar who reviewed the script and said it was the most accurate of any of the films they had reviewed.”
The climax of the movie, the fiery furnace, was one of the scenes Kooman said he most looked forward to bringing to life, emphasizing that Scripture holds a cinematic power unmatched by any other source material.
“It’s such an honour to depict [that scene]. When you depict it, it will not return to God empty,” Kooman said. “It won’t be void of meaning or impact. So when we take the page of Scripture and ask, ‘How could this have looked?’ it’s so powerful.”
He and his team have spent hours imagining how the characters must have felt at that moment; the fear, the anticipation, the impossible faith.
“There’s no human that’s ever lived, save Christ, that would have been able to walk into that furnace without fear,” he says. “So when you bring in those backstories, what they were thinking, what they were feeling, it just comes to life in an incredible way.”
Daniel is scheduled for a 2026 release, and Kooman said he hopes it finds a wide audience in theatres, homes and churches. More than that, he hopes it becomes the first of several films.
“We really want to tell more stories,” he says. “In fact, this is only the first of a series of ‘Daniel’ movies we want to do, focusing on a few chapters at a time so we’re able to really dive into the text.”
But success, he says, depends on community support. Though crowdfunding is closed, people can still support the movie with donations.
“If people of faith want to see more of these kinds of films, they have to come behind us and support us. We’re going to be doing campaigns to get churches and youth groups to go and book out a theater,” he said.
“Our goal is sincerely to see people open the Word and be brought into the Word in a new way,” Kooman added. “And for this generation, that means film. That’s how people are absorbing media — on their phones, in theaters, on TV. If we can pack that with faith-based content, we’ll be showing that there’s a demand — and that’s only going to help in the future.”
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