Hard Faith Podcast

Hard Faith Podcast

Join us at Hard Faith™ Welcoming honest, gritty, redemptive stories Hard Faith™ is a media production company established for the purpose of bringing compelling stories about the human condition to a film going audience in a way that artistically and speaks truth to this present generation in a fresh and powerful way. The world needs quality entertainment and art that speaks truth boldly. We need stories that are set in real-world settings with characters that talk about the ultimate truth. We accomplish this with realistic, real world scenarios and real life characters. Hollywood has been the masters of compelling storytelling for generations. These artists of dramatic cinema have produced some of the worlds greatest existential films dealing with human existence. Our desire is to make hard hitting, thought provoking secular art with characters who are portrayed as real life, flawed people who still find hope.

Episodes

February 26, 2025 38 mins

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar welcomes Monique and Paige to discuss Vision Reel, a unique approach to visualizing and shaping one’s future through faith and storytelling. The conversation traces their friendship back to Monique and Paige’s podcast, Sacred Potential, which led them to discover Spencer’s work on Holy Traitor, sparking a deep creative connection.

The idea fo...

Mark as Played

Podcast Summary: Nathan Clarkson & Spencer Folmar on Bright Sky, Hard Faith, and Filmmaking Without Excuses

On this episode, Nathan Clarkson and Spencer Folmar sit down to talk about their newest film, Bright Sky, which releases February 7, 2025, on all digital platforms, home video rentals, and DVD.

The duo dives deep into the making of Bright Sky, exploring the heart of Hard Faith sto...

Mark as Played
January 29, 2025 17 mins

In this emotional and deeply personal episode of The Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar and his wife, McKenna, open up about the heartbreaking loss of their daughter, Mary Claire. As they navigate the grief and faith challenges that come with such a profound loss, they share their raw emotions, reflections, and the journey of healing. This episode marks the beginning of Season 3, offering an honest look at faith ...

Mark as Played

Hard Faith Podcast | Season 2 Finale

In this heartfelt and candid season finale, Spencer Folmar reflects on a momentous and challenging year for Hard Faith and his family. From officially transitioning Hard Faith into a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to celebrating the theatrical release of Saint Nick of Bethlehem and publishing his book, The Need for Hard Faith, Spencer shares the triumphs and trials that shaped 2...

Mark as Played

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar dives into an inspiring conversation with Kaleb and Kyler Cook of Twin Bowl Media, filmmakers from central Pennsylvania. The Cook brothers discuss their journey of blending faith and filmmaking, highlighting their award-winning short film, David: A King’s Calling. The film, set in Pennsylvania but doubling as ancient Israel, has captured audiences with its...

Mark as Played

In this episode, we explore the journey behind Out of the Flames, a gripping 14th-century historical drama by screenwriter Stephanie Hutchinson. This award-winning screenplay, which took the Grand Prize at the Kairos Prize for Spiritually Uplifting Screenplays and Hard Faith Fest, transports us into a world of medieval challenges and profound faith. Stephanie shares the inspiration behind the script and the research that shaped thi...

Mark as Played

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar sits down with award-winning director Brad Alexander to discuss his documentary The Threshing Floor. The film, which received both the top award and the audience award at the Hard Faith Film Festival, is described as an evangelism story disguised as an addiction film. Brad shares how he was inspired to tell the story of his friend, who overcame heroin addiction, and how...

Mark as Played

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar, founder of Hard Faith, interviews filmmaker Matthew McCaulley about his award-winning feature film unDEFILED. They discuss the film’s origins, inspired by shocking statistics on pornography use among churchgoers and pastors, and the journey from script development to final production. Matthew shares insights into the ministry-first approach that guided the making of th...

Mark as Played

In this episode of the Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar speaks with award-winning filmmaker John Kestner, who recently won Best Experimental Short Film at the Hard Faith 2024 Film Festival for “The Foxhole.” They discuss the unique environment of the festival, which embraces challenging and faith-adjacent narratives. John shares his experiences creating thought-provoking films, the inspiration behind “The Foxhole,” and the i...

Mark as Played

Today Spencer & Co-Host McKenna Folmar talk about all the details and events taking place at the Hard Faith Film Festival. The event takes place in one week at the Garland Hotel in North Hollywood CA. July 19 + 20 from 10AM - 6PM. We hope you can join us for the 2nd Annual Film Festival Event! Learn more at www.HardFaith.org/festival 

Mark as Played

Today we talk with filmmaker David Pozdyrka about his Hard Faith Fest 2023 winning short film "Cohabitation" as well as announcing our new streaming channel to find Hard Faith Films! You can now rent films on the HardFaith.org website. David lives in the country of Moldova and we talk about Christians depicted in art, the use of art to portray ourselves and moral themes, as well as David's process for creating his film. 

Also pleas...

Mark as Played
March 13, 2024 31 mins

Today we interview filmmaker Benjamin Ironside Koppin and lead actress Courtney Bandeko of the upcoming theatrical release of "Pastor's Kid" (2024). 

The film comes out March 15 

Pastor's Kid in theaters nationwide March 15, 16, 17.

https://pastorskidthemovie.com/

https://www.fandango.com/pastors-kid-2024-235233/movie-overview

Benjamin Ironside Koppin Bio:

Benjamin Ironside ...

Mark as Played
March 13, 2024 16 mins

We are excited to announce Season 2 of the Hard Faith Podcast. We kick off this new season catching up and recapping on our long break. It has been a busy few months, but we are eager to get back to regular episodes and guests. We have an exciting lineup this season featuring filmmakers, theologians, film festival news, and film updates. 

Mark as Played

All faith is Hard Faith! We talk all things related to our upcoming 1st ever Hard Faith Film Festival happening 1 month from today on July 22nd 2023 at the Arena CineLounge on Sunset from 11am - 7pm. See you there and pre order your ticket before supplies run out. 

Mark as Played

Our guest today is Jessica Boss, a filmmaker who is tackling difficult subjects with a faith perspective. Her company Boss Pictures is making feature films about important topics. Her lasting word of advice to filmmakers is to keep pushing forward and to not rob audiences of the experience of your story!

Mark as Played

We talk today with filmmaker William McCann and his film "The Liberator". His film won top prize at our last film festival and we wanted to share the details about our next in person film festival event taking place in Burbank CA on July 22nd. Please submit today at www.HardFaith.com/Fest

 

Mark as Played

Hard Faith Beginning - My First Book Release!

This is a book about my time at Adventure Bible School in New Zealand 12 years ago. This is where I converted to Christianity and began having the first ideas about telling Hard Faith stories. This is a very personal journey, but I hope that it is encouraging to others. 

Purchase the book on Amazon today!

Mark as Played

McKenna Folmar today talks about healing hurt and how to process spiritual abuse. Important topic with my darling wife discussing “Healing Church Hurt”. Episode 4 of the Hard Faith Podcast is out now! McKenna is a children's book author, a specialty and wedding events planner, and podcaster herself!

Mark as Played

Nathan Clarkson is an award winning actor, a Publishers Weekly bestselling author, a hit indie filmmaker, and a podcast philosopher on The Overthinkers. He lives between Los Angeles and New York City. His most recent book, Finding God in Hollywood is out now. 

Mark as Played

Legendary director, writer, and producer Paul Schrader talks about the state of the faith based industry. He discusses his films as well as inspiration behind some of his classic scripts.

Mark as Played

Popular Podcasts

    Welcome to Bookmarked by Reese’s Book Club — the podcast where great stories, bold women, and irresistible conversations collide! Hosted by award-winning journalist Danielle Robay, each week new episodes balance thoughtful literary insight with the fervor of buzzy book trends, pop culture and more. Bookmarked brings together celebrities, tastemakers, influencers and authors from Reese's Book Club and beyond to share stories that transcend the page. Pull up a chair. You’re not just listening — you’re part of the conversation.

    On Purpose with Jay Shetty

    I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

    Dateline NBC

    Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

    24/7 News: The Latest

    The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.

    The Bobby Bones Show

    Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.

Advertise With Us
Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.