PAST FESTIVALS
Recap of Our Past Festival Events & A Celebration
of Our Winners. Thank You To Everyone
Who Has Helped This Event Grow
2026 Hard Faith Fest LA
Winners List
AWARDS RECOGNITION
SCREENPLAY
1st Place: “Indentured” — Autumn Libengood
2nd Place: “Harvest Skies” — Joel Bicknell
3rd Place: “At the Mercy of Faith” — Samuel Lee Taylor
FEATURE FILM
1st Place: “Miracle on the Precipice” — Nathan Todd Sims
2nd Place: “Elijah Peel” — Kevin D. Sepe
3rd Place: “The Hail Mary” — Daniel Roebuck
SHORT FILM
1st Place: “Defender” — Chris Cloud
2nd Place: “Onesimus” — Alejandro Hevia
3rd Place: “Convicted” — Timothy Kernc
STUDENT FILM
Winner: “Mourning Dove” — Marina Liberato, Sinclair Carey
DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Winner: “MEARS: How One Woman Changed American Christianity” — Rob Loos
DOCUMENTARY SHORT
Winner: “Jordan: Blessing Arab” — Myeongjin Ko
EPISODIC
Winner: “These Stones — Episode 103” — Susan Rohrer
ORIGINAL SONG
Winner: “I’m Not Myself” — Brittany Benjamin
ANIMATION
Winner: “Saint Augustine and the Stolen Pears” — Julia Sondermann, Gustavo Leite
LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Bill Farmer
Martin Sheen
NEWCOMER AWARD
Ashlyn Tomlin
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
“The One” — Martin Sheen
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
“Miracle on the Precipice” — Venice Wong
BEST TRAILER
“Set Free” — Brandon Vince Cannon
BEST EDITING
“Miracle on the Precipice” — Nathan Todd Sims, Naomi Sims
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
“Beyond the Shadows” — Joshaun Anderson
BEST COMPOSER
“The One” — Josh Tackett, Stephen Tackett
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
“Miracle on the Precipice” — Chris Centers
BEST COSTUME
“Defender” — Chris Cloud
BEST MAKEUP & HAIRSTYLING
“Onesimus” — Alejandro Hevia
BEST CASTING
“The One” — Beverly Holloway, CSA
BEST WRITER
“The One” — Erin Elizabeth Cook
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
“Illusion of Faith” — Aleksa Ristovic
BEST ACTOR
“The One” — Noah Redclay
BEST ACTRESS
“Miracle on the Precipice” — Jenn Gotzon
BEST DIRECTOR
“Miracle on the Precipice” — Nathan Todd Sims
BEST PRODUCER
“The One” — Erin Elizabeth Cook, Adam Ropp
BEST JUDGES PITCH
“Holy Land” — Sean Malone
BEST AUDIENCE PITCH
“Prison Ministries Series” — Dominick Swabacker
AUDIENCE FAVORITE
“Life & Death” — Lee-San Gayle
BEST PICTURE
“The One” — Erin Elizabeth Cook, Adam Ropp
2025 Third Annual Recap
Third Annual Hard Faith Film Festival AWARD WINNERS LIST
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Special Honor:
• Lifetime Achievement Award: Beverly Holloway
Juried Awards:
Animation — "The 21" Tod Polson
Documentary Feature — "Unsung Hero" Dr. Michael W. Wesley
Documentary Short — "Hate Undone" Andrew Johnston
Experimental — "Stations of the Cross" Aleksa Ristović
Feature Film — "Triumph of the Heart" Anthony D’Ambrosio
Screenplay Competition:
1. "Shut Eye Revival" — John Kestner
2. "Magdalene" — Mary Driscoll
3. "Dance of the Innocent" — T. L. Michaels
Short Films:
1. "Ripple" Jason Munden
2. "Grand Canyon" Sean P. Malone
3. "Sons of Thunder" Chris Mac
Student Film — "The Celebration" Jason Sterling Orcutt
Television — "The Shadow of a King" Daniel Charles Cole
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Individual Category Awards:
Best Actress — Zoe Simek "Ruins"
Best Actor — Leland Mergillano "Film Camp"
Best Supporting Actress — Joy Villa "Pastor Sue Saves Christmas"
Best Supporting Actor — Demetrios Troy "Ripple"
Best Director — Timothy Goodwin "Film Camp"
Best Writer — Alyssa Plock & Joseph Holmes "Lizzie Lives Again"
Best Cinematography — "Mission Upside Down"
Best Original Score — "Space Waves"
Best Editing — "The Club"
Best Costume Design — "The Jeweled Bird"
Best Visual Effects — "The End of Youth"
Best Makeup — "Pastor Sue Saves Christmas"
Best Trailer — "Reason to Fight" — Hiram Johnson
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Pitch Fest
• Judges’ Choice: "Lizzie Lives Again" — Alyssa Plock
• Audience Choice: 'The Hittite" — Daniel Cole
⸻
See you next year—stories that liberate keep rolling!
www.HardFaithFest.com (https://www.hardfaithfest.com/)
2024 2nd Annual Recap
2024 Award Winners
​
FEATURE FILM
1st Place: "UnDefiled"
2nd Place: "8beats Anthology"
3rd Place: "Ordinary Things"
Audience Award: "8Beats Anthology"
SHORT FILM
1st Place: "David: A King's Calling"
2nd Place: "Pacific Parable: Buried Treasure"
3rd Place: "FOUR-NINETY"
4th Place: "I’ll Speak For You"
Audience Award: "smallgroupthink
​
DOCUMENTARY FILM
1st Place: "The Threshing Floor"
2nd Place: "We Were Fans"
3rd Place: "The Terrifying Delight of Losing Everything"
Audience Award: "The Threshing Floor"
SCREENPLAY
1st Place: “Out of the Flames”
2nd Place: “Believers”
3rd Place: “UNEARNED”
Audience Award: “Believers”
STUDENT
1st Place: "In Situ"
2nd Place: "One of a Kind"
3rd Place: "All Things New"
EPISODIC
1st Place: "Townsend"
EXPERIMENTAL
1st Place: "The Foxhole"
​
THANK YOU TO ALL FILMMAKERS AND OUR SUBMISSIONS
1st Annual Film Festival Event
Took Place July 22nd, 2023
At the CineLounge Theatre on Sunset Boulevard
~ FIRST ANNUAL EVENT ~
HARD FAITH FEST 2023
winners list 2023
AWARDS RECOGNITION
SHORT FILMS:
1st Place: “NUMB: Dealing with Abuse”
Directed by Andrew Wesley Johnston & Producer Steventhen Holland
2nd Place: "Toy Train” Directed by Kyle Tiernan
3rd Place: “Night Voices” Directed & Writer Bradley Hawkins​
STUDENT FILMS:
1st Place: “Cohabitation” Director & Writer David Pozdyrka & Producer Yulia Alexandrovna Novikova
2nd Place: “The Ace” Directed by Adam Whitney, Writer & Producer Miranda Watson
3rd Place: “Crossing” Director & Writer Plinio Antonin Santarelli
EXPERIMENTAL FILMS:
1st Place: “Fortress” Director & Writer Andrew Huggins
2nd Place: “Regarding Abel” Director & Writer Alyssa Giese
3rd Place: “Damp Moss” Directed by Christopher Thompson
EPISODIC:
1st Place: “Breaking Strongholds Season 1 - Episode 4 "The Mother Wounds”” Directed by Jake Allen, Writer Robin Murray, Producer Carla McDougal
2nd Place: “Breaking Strongholds Season 1 - Episode 3 "The Message"
3rd Place: “Breaking Strongholds Season 1 - Episode 2 - "The Advocates"
SCREENPLAY:
1st Place: “Flower In the Sun" Written by Jesse Low, Suzette Sutton-Frazee
2nd Place: “Soldier Through The Storm” Written by Kimberly Jade Soliman
3rd Place: “Aktion T-4” Written by John Martins III
FEATURE FILMS:
1st Place: “Metamorphosis” Directed by Brigham McNeely
2nd Place: “Miracle At Manchester” Directed by Eddie McClintock
3rd Place: “Amazing Gracie” Directed by Micah Caronna
DOCUMENTARY:
1st Place: “One Second at a Time: Battling the Monster of Addiction” Directed by Tim Searfoss
2nd Place: “Rescuer” Directed by Gergely Hajnal
3rd Place: “In God's Hand” Directed by Andy Costa