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.

In this special episode, Spencer sits down with writer, critic, and now feature filmmaker Joseph Holmes to talk about the release of his very first movie, Jim vs The Future, which is officially out and available to watch now.

Joseph walks through the journey of bringing his debut feature to life—from the earliest ideas, to the challenges of independent production, to the joy (and terror) of finally sharing a film with the world. Spencer and Joseph dive into how the story was shaped, what the filmmaking process taught him, and why he felt compelled to make a movie that tackles faith, doubt, and destiny through a fresh, creative lens.

They also explore Joseph’s broader work as a cultural commentator, how he balances Christian conviction with honest storytelling, and why he believes bold, thoughtful art is needed more now than ever.

Whether you’re a filmmaker, a creative, or simply someone who loves a good underdog story, this episode spotlights the heart, grit, and faith required to make a first feature film.

Stream Jim vs The Future now, then come back and hear the inside story straight from Joseph himself. https://linktr.ee/JosephHolmes

In this powerful in-person episode, Spencer sits down with longtime friend and real-life Saint Nick, Allen Smith—the man whose remarkable true story inspired Saint Nick of Bethlehem and the upcoming documentary Sad Santa and the Healing Power of Giving.

Allen shares how a simple act of lifting his grieving family’s spirits one Christmas launched him into twelve years of portraying Santa Claus across Central Pennsylvania. But the heart of this conversation is Allen’s extraordinary courage and faith after the unimaginable loss of his only son, Garrett. Just seven weeks after Garrett’s passing, Allen stepped back into the red suit—choosing to bring joy to others even while walking through his deepest valley.

Spencer and Allen reflect on the making of Saint Nick, the long nights on set, and the friendships that carried this story from real life to the screen. Allen opens up about joy, service, resilience, and how giving can become a lifeline in seasons of heartbreak.

This episode is a raw, hopeful exploration of faith, healing, and the power of showing up for others.

Stay tuned at the end for details on upcoming red-carpet events and the home-video release of Saint Nick of Bethlehem.

In this episode of The Hard Faith Podcast, host Spencer Folmar sits down with author, screenwriter, and professor Sean Gaffney to explore the intersection of storytelling, faith, and the power of myth. Sean—who has worked everywhere from Warner Bros. to VeggieTales and now teaches screenwriting at Asbury University—joins us to discuss his new book, Meta Story: What Marvel & the Messiah Can Teach Us About Great Storytelling.

Drawing from decades in Hollywood and the classroom, Sean unpacks how the greatest stories—whether found in Scripture or in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—follow timeless, divine patterns that reveal truth, redemption, and the human longing for meaning. With warmth and wisdom, he shares how faith and art are never meant to be separate—and why reconnecting the two could restore depth and soul to modern storytelling.

Meta Story is available now in paperback and digital formats through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and directly through Sean's website: Gaffneyinkwell.com. It’s a must-read for writers, filmmakers, and believers who want to tell stories that matter.

Tune in for a conversation that will challenge, inspire, and reawaken your imagination—only on The Hard Faith Podcast.