THE HEART OF
HARD FAITH FEST
We started Hard Faith Fest in 2023 with a pretty simple conversation.
I had just come home from planning a wedding—very pregnant—when Spencer looked at me and said,
“We need to start a film festival where people making Hard Faith stories can actually show their work
and find community.”
For years, filmmakers had been reaching out to Spencer saying they loved what Hard Faith stood for and wanted to create stories in that same space, but they had nowhere to screen them and no real community around the work.
So we decided to build one.
That first year, we honestly had no idea if anyone would come. By the end of the night, it was standing room only. Since then, we have outgrown our space every year, and one of our favorite parts has been watching the Hard Faith family grow with more filmmakers, friends, and collaborators.
In 2025, after hearing again and again from people on the East Coast asking us to bring the festival closer to them, we started Hard Faith Fest NYC. Now Christmas in Manhattan has become part of our year every year.
And beginning in 2027, we are growing again with a third rotating festival in a new city or country each year.
What started as one conversation has grown into
a community—and we are still
just getting started.
Spencer Folmar - Artistic Director
The founder of Hard Faith and Artistic Director of Hard Faith Film Festival. A writer, director, and producer, he has directed nine feature films and built his career around telling honest stories of faith, suffering, redemption, and hope.
Through Hard Faith Fest, Spencer works to create a community where filmmakers can show their work, meet collaborators, and be encouraged to keep creating.
During the festival, you can usually find him on stage—or somewhere in the crowd talking with filmmakers and attendees.
McKenna Folmar - Events Director
Better known around the festival as
“Mrs. Hard Faith,” is the COO of Hard Faith and Events Director of Hard Faith Film Festival.
Her background in nonprofit work, paired with running her luxury wedding planning company, Events by McKenna, prepared
her well for the fast-moving world
of festival production.
During Hard Faith Fest, you can usually
find her moving quickly through the venue with a coffee in one hand and a
clipboard in the other.
Beyond the Festival
When Spencer and McKenna are not working on
Hard Faith Fest or spending time with their daughter,
Margaret, you can usually find them on a film set creating Hard Faith films — stories that liberate.
In 2026 alone, they filmed an entire Suicide Prevention Trilogy — three feature films in one year centered on one
of the hardest subjects a family can face.
The films explore suicide, grief, trauma, survival, and what
it means to keep living, while still pointing toward hope
and redemption.
The festival is one part of a much larger mission to
tell honest stories about faith, suffering,
and hope — and to get those stories in front
of the people who need them.
If you believe in this work and would like to help us keep telling these stories, we would be incredibly grateful for your support.
Hard Faith is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and donations are tax-deductible to the extent permitted
by law.
Click below to support Hard Faith and help us keep telling stories that liberate.