Ashley Seering’s “A Lovely Uncontrollable Thing” Makes West Coast Premiere at the Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival

The Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival takes place March 10-22 in San José and Mountain View.

When San José State Assistant Professor of Film, Theatre and Dance Ashley Seering lived in Pennsylvania, she befriended Victoria Moore, a blacksmith and metalsmith who designs, creates and forges jewelry out of her studio nestled in the forest. An accomplished filmmaker, Seering soon recognized the cinematic quality of Moore's artistic practice. Not only does Moore make utensils, tools and jewelry - she forge-welds steel alloys at temperatures of close to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

In 2025, Seering brought her camera to Washington, D.C., where she met Moore at the Smithsonian Craft Show, the premier national showcase for artisanal crafts. Given the historic nature of Moore's work, plus the undeniable visuals provided by the craft itself, Seering knew that the artist would make a great documentary subject.

"Victoria is one of very few women blacksmiths who do Damascus steel specifically, which is an art form that has been around for centuries," Seering says. "Her medium is very visual - we joked along the way that every step of the process wants to harm you, from the big, heavy machinery to the super hot, intense heat, to [the process of] making knives. There are welding components and a power hammer that smashes things together. She is one of the few women who have made Damascus steel their lifelong career, and I thought all of these components together would lend themselves to being a really good film."

Seering returned to Pennsylvania in summer 2025 to film Moore in action. The resulting 11-minute short documentary, "A Lovely Uncontrollable Thing," premiered in Pennsylvania last year. It will make its West Coast debut at the Cinequest Film and Creativity Festival at the Alamo Drafthouse Theatre in Mountain View on March 21 and 22.

Founded in 1990 by filmmakers Halfdan Hussey and Kathleen Powell, Cinequest has grown exponentially to include screenwriting competitions, virtual and augmented realities, comedy, television, fashion, art and design, and dance. Seering is thrilled to have her film included in a lineup of independent short films, adding that festivals offer unique opportunities for filmmakers to connect with potential distributors and wider audiences.

"We make films to be shared with audiences," she says. "I've had the privilege of being at big film festivals like Slamdance and showing my work, and I've also been at festivals run by local communities and local schools, where the audience is smaller. But for me, it's not necessarily about how many people my film is reaching. It's about the impact of those it does reach."

Get tickets to see "A Lovely Uncontrollable Thing" at Cinequest in March.