Hard Faith Podcast

Hard Faith Podcast: Season 4 - Episode 7

Spencer and McKenna Folmar sit down just two weeks after wrapping the Suicide Prevention Trilogy to look back on one of the most ambitious seasons in Hard Faith history: three feature films made in a single year, including two films shot back-to-back in just five weeks.

They share the story behind The Days Are Evil, God Is Beautiful, and REST—from an idea Spencer carried for nearly 15 years to a trilogy exploring suicide, grief, depression, faith, family, and hope from three different perspectives. They also talk candidly about the emotional weight of the material, the prayer and support that surrounded the production, and their hope that these films will reach people who desperately need to know that their lives matter.

Along the way, Spencer and McKenna take listeners behind the scenes of an extraordinary production: long days and sleepless nights, a cast and crew that became a family, community members opening their homes and businesses, McKenna feeding as many as 30–50 people while also producing and working on set, and countless people stepping outside their job descriptions to make the films possible.

Now that all three films are finally in the can, Spencer and McKenna reflect on what it took to get there, the people who carried the mission alongside them, and what comes next for the Suicide Prevention Trilogy and Hard Faith.

Hard Faith Podcast: Season 4 - Episode 6

In Episode 6 of the Hard Faith Podcast, Spencer Folmar sits down with screenwriter and veteran fighter pilot Marty Richards, winner of Best Screenplay at Hard Faith Fest NYC 2025 for his first screenplay, Nickel on the Grass.

Marty shares the remarkable true story behind the screenplay. On September 11, 2001, he was both a United Airlines pilot and an F-15 pilot in the Massachusetts Air National Guard. What began as a routine training mission became a scramble into the skies during the terrorist attacks. Marty ultimately spent hours over New York City helping intercept aircraft and stabilize American airspace.

But his story is as much about what happened after September 11 as what happened that day. Marty opens up about the lasting toll of the experience, his struggle to understand and process what he had lived through, and how faith, family, surrender, and eventually writing helped lead him toward healing. His screenplay grew out of that journey and his participation in the Writers Guild Foundation’s Veterans Writing Project.

Twenty-five years after 9/11, Marty offers a deeply personal perspective on service, trauma, storytelling, and the importance of asking for help. It is a conversation about what happens when a warrior discovers that sometimes the hardest act isn’t fighting—it’s surrendering what you cannot control and trusting God with what comes next.

www.HardFaith.org

Season 4, Episode 5: Peter Iengo — Turning Grief into Purpose Through Faith and Film at Hard Faith Fest NYC

Award-winning filmmaker Peter Iengo joins the Hard Faith Podcast to share the deeply personal story behind his feature film One More Time, winner of Best Feature Film at the inaugural Hard Faith Film Festival NYC. Inspired by the loss of his father during the COVID-19 pandemic, Peter opens up about his journey through grief, how the GriefShare ministry helped restore his faith, and why he chose to transform his pain into a film that offers hope to others.

In this moving conversation, Peter reflects on more than two decades in filmmaking, from winning a Student Emmy and screening films at international festivals to teaching the next generation of filmmakers. He shares how his experiences with loss reshaped not only his personal faith, but also the direction of his career, leading him to create stories centered on grief, healing, and the power of Christ.

Together, Spencer and Peter discuss the importance of authentic storytelling, the healing process that comes through creating art, and why Christians should not shy away from difficult conversations about suffering. Peter also explains how GriefShare welcomes people from every background and denomination, offering practical encouragement for anyone walking through loss.

If you’ve experienced grief, wondered how faith intersects with suffering, or believe stories can change lives, this episode is an honest and hope-filled conversation you won’t want to miss.

Submit and attend Hard Faith Fest NYC at www.HardFaithFest.com

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, Spencer and McKenna Folmar give a full update on everything happening with Hard Faith, including the recent wrap of their newest feature film, The Days Are Evil, and the upcoming fourth annual Hard Faith Fest LA, taking place June 25–28, 2026 at Lake Avenue Church in Pasadena, California.

Spencer opens the episode by sharing that The Days Are Evil has officially wrapped production after a demanding but deeply meaningful shoot in Central Pennsylvania. The film is the first installment in the upcoming Suicide Trilogy, with the same core cast continuing into the next two films. Spencer and McKenna reflect on the strength of the cast and crew, the emotional weight of the material, and the grace they felt throughout production. Spencer also shares that he has already begun editing and is excited about how the film is coming together.

The conversation then turns to Hard Faith Fest LA Year Four, which will be the largest Hard Faith Fest yet. This year marks the festival’s first four-day event, hosted by Lake Avenue Church, a venue Spencer and McKenna describe as beautiful, gracious, and ideal for the growing festival. They discuss the move to Pasadena, the convenience of nearby hotel room blocks, the walkability of the area, and the ability for guests to fly into Burbank as an easier alternative to LAX.

Spencer and McKenna emphasize that Hard Faith Fest is not simply a screening event, but a true gathering place for Christian artists, filmmakers, writers, actors, producers, and industry professionals who are trying to tell honest, redemptive stories. The festival will include screenings, screenplay presentations, panels, workshops, live musical performances, the Pitch Fest, afterparties, Sunday worship at Lake Avenue Church, and a closing time of prayer and encouragement.

This year’s festival theme is “Do Not Fear.” Spencer explains that the theme feels especially fitting for Christian artists who are called to create courageously, even when the path is uncertain. The episode frames the festival as a place of encouragement, community, and faith-driven creative boldness.

The heart of the episode is the official announcement of the Hard Faith Fest LA official selections and category nominations. The festival received its strongest and most competitive submissions yet, with hundreds of entries and more than fifty projects being screened or presented across the festival.

The official selections include:

Screenplays:

Short Films:

Feature Films:

Student Films:

Documentary Features:

Documentary Shorts:

The episode also announces selections in Best Original Song, Episodic / Television, and Animation, along with nominations for acting, directing, producing, writing, cinematography, editing, visual effects, costume design, makeup, casting, international film, composer, trailer, and additional festival awards.

Spencer and McKenna close by congratulating all official selections and nominees, while also encouraging those who were not selected to continue creating and submit again in the future. They make clear that the festival’s mission is not only to recognize excellent work, but to champion artists who are telling stories that liberate.

The episode ends with an invitation for listeners to buy tickets, attend all four days, take part in the full community experience, and join Hard Faith Fest LA in Pasadena for a festival rooted in faith, art, courage, and honest storytelling.

www.HardFaithFest.com

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, Spencer Folmar sits down with Los Angeles screenwriter Kimberly Jade Soliman to talk about her path into screenwriting, her long-standing connection to Hard Faith, and the grit it takes to build a career in film while staying grounded in faith. Spencer highlights Kimberly’s discipline, consistency, and practical approach to finding work, while Kimberly shares how God led her from a theater background into screenwriting and eventually to Los Angeles.

The episode is especially helpful for aspiring writers because it is not just inspirational — it is practical. Kimberly talks about the value of steady writing, learning the industry from the inside by working on set, going to conferences, building relationships over time, and refusing to let rejection knock her out of the game. She makes the case that perseverance matters just as much as talent, and that a real writing career is built through faithfulness over time.

At its heart, this conversation is about endurance, calling, and doing the work. It is an encouraging episode for screenwriters, filmmakers, and anyone trying to stay faithful to what God has put in front of them, even when the road is long.

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar sits down with filmmaker and cinematographer Sean Malone, whose striking black-and-white short film Grand Canyon won second place at this year’s Hard Faith Film Festival in Hollywood. 

Sean shares the deeply personal inspiration behind Grand Canyon, a film born out of the isolation, grief, and spiritual weight many experienced during the COVID era. Framed like a psalm of lament, the film follows a widowed minister struggling to hold onto faith amid darkness, division, and despair — ultimately becoming a cinematic prayer and cry out to God. 

The conversation expands into Sean’s love of cinema, his influences ranging from Spielberg to Lawrence of Arabia, and his journey as an artist who wants filmmaking to carry real spiritual substance. Sean and Spencer reflect on the importance of theology in storytelling — not making films that feel preachy, but honest stories that still center Christian hope. 

Sean also speaks candidly about his own faith journey, including seasons of depression, suffering, and slow spiritual growth — emphasizing that Christians may walk through valleys, but never without hope. Together, Spencer and Sean explore how hardship shapes character, how faith matures over time, and why art should ultimately point beyond ourselves to Christ. 

Finally, Sean reflects on the unique spirit of Hard Faith Fest: a community marked not by transaction, but by love, dignity, and the belief that artists are made in the image of God. He shares plans for a possible Grand Canyon sequel and encourages listeners to keep creating meaningful work rooted in truth and redemption.

In the Season 4 premiere of the Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar welcomes back the show’s only recurring guest across every season, Nathan Clarkson, for a wide-ranging conversation on faith, honesty, and storytelling.

The episode centers on Nathan’s new book I’m the Worst: Freedom Is Found in Admitting Our Faults, which explores the personal and cultural consequences of refusing to acknowledge our own brokenness. Nathan shares how years of maintaining a polished Christian image hid deeper fear, doubt, and pain—and how facing that darkness became a bridge to healing rather than the end of his story.

Together, Spencer and Nathan discuss why Christians should be the first to admit their need for a Savior, how denial fuels division in culture and politics, and why much faith-based art fails when it avoids the reality of sin, suffering, and moral complexity. Drawing from Scripture, personal experience, filmmaking, and theology, they argue that honest art has the power to confront darkness while still pointing toward redemption.

This episode sets the tone for Season 4 by affirming a core Hard Faith conviction: life is hard, God is good, and truth-telling—both in art and in life—is essential to freedom and faithfulness.

On the Season 3 finale of the Hard Faith Podcast, Spencer Folmar is joined by his wife and Hard Faith COO, McKenna Folmar, for a candid end-of-year reflection that closes out 2025 and looks ahead to what God may be preparing in 2026. Together, they unpack a year marked by both deep suffering and unexpected fruit—sharing openly about loss, perseverance, and why Hard Faith continues to exist for artists who feel unseen, constrained, or displaced by traditional faith spaces. 

The episode recaps major milestones from the past year, including the first-ever Hard Faith regional event in New York City, which sold out theaters, overflowed its awards show, and confirmed a growing hunger for honest, unfiltered faith-driven storytelling on both coasts. Spencer and McKenna reflect on the leap of faith it took to pull off the NYC festival in just a few months, the supernatural sense of unity that marked the event, and how Hard Faith has become a gathering place where filmmakers find community, collaboration, and courage. 

Looking forward, they announce key plans for Hard Faith Fest LA 2026 (June 25–28)—a four-day event in Hollywood themed “Do Not Fear,” featuring expanded workshops, live music, worship, commissioning, and new artistic categories. The conversation also previews upcoming books, original Hard Faith film projects, additional regional and international events under prayerful consideration, and the continued growth of the podcast into Season 4. 

More than an update, this finale is an invitation—to pray, to partner, and to step into a movement committed to telling stories that liberate and bringing the Gospel to the lost sheep through art. As the year closes, Spencer and McKenna share their hearts, their gratitude, and their hope for what lies ahead, trusting God’s direction one step at a time. 

On this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, Spencer Folmar sits down with filmmaker, director, writer, and educator Sam Sorich for a wide-ranging and deeply honest conversation about faith, art, envy, conversion, and the spiritual cost of creating meaningful work in a volatile cultural moment. Sam reflects on his connection to Hard Faith Fest, where his visually striking anthology feature Eight Beats—eight short films inspired by the Beatitudes—won the Audience Awardand emerged as one of the festival’s most talked-about films. 

Sam shares his unconventional journey into filmmaking, including an early artistic calling, a dramatic turn toward the Catholic seminary, a season of atheism, and a hard-won return to faith shaped by cinema, philosophy, and the work of René Girard. He unpacks how watching thousands of films during seminary became both an escape and a form of spiritual and artistic formation, eventually leading to a vision for Eight Beats as a Catholic answer to Kieslowski’s Decalogue—bold, incarnational, and unafraid of complexity. 

The conversation also explores Sam’s international life (from Chicago to Colombia to California), his recent season teaching film, documentary, mimetic theory, horror, and AI at John Paul the Great Catholic University, and how mentoring young filmmakers became an unexpected source of healing for wounds formed earlier in his faith journey. Sam reflects candidly on envy, rivalry, and comparison in the creative life—especially watching close friends succeed—and offers a powerful spiritual framework for resisting the “Luciferian light” through humility, prayer, and identification with the blind beggar crying out for mercy. 

Finally, Sam previews his new documentary project exploring UFOs, extraterrestrial phenomena, and the Catholic imagination, asking provocative questions about incarnation, reality, and how faith traditions can interpret a world that feels increasingly re-enchanted and unstable. It’s a thoughtful, theologically rich, and emotionally vulnerable episode that speaks directly to artists, filmmakers, and believers navigating doubt, ambition, and calling in real time.

On this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, Spencer Folmar sits down with filmmaker Chris Mac, the award-winning director behind the short film Sons of Thunder—a proof-of-concept for an upcoming feature. Chris opens up about the film’s heart, the deep Biblical inspiration behind its title, and how he aims to make faith-driven cinema that’s as artistically excellent as it is spiritually honest.

Chris shares the emotional moment he first connected with the mission of Hard Faith Fest and how it felt watching his story resonate with a live audience. He unpacks the tension at the center of Sons of Thunder—two brothers on a violent road of vengeance after their middle brother’s murder, torn between wrath and grace—and why the “Sons of Thunder” passage in Scripture shaped the story’s moral spine.

The conversation dives into the craft and calling of Christian filmmaking: how to pursue beauty and truth rather than preachiness, why excellence honors God, and how filmmakers can capture the grit of real life without losing faith. Spencer and Chris also explore the realities of making independent films outside Hollywood—funding hurdles, scoring challenges, music-licensing nightmares, and the rise and fall of Michigan’s film incentives.

It’s an honest, inspiring talk about filmmaking, faith, and the next generation of storytellers who refuse to separate artistic integrity from spiritual conviction.