UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — For Penn State faculty filmmaker Ashley Seering, it’s all about community and vision, and both those things shine through in an award-winning short documentary she directed and produced.
Seering’s latest film, “Pride of Texas,” was named Best of Competition in the MIcro-Documentary Category during the Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts. The seven-minute film offers a look at the Texas Gay Rodeo Association and shows that the rodeo, and Texas, is a place for everyone.
“My goal was to tell a Texas story that was a little unexpected, and the rodeo was perfect,” said Seering, an assistant teaching professor in the Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications who joined the University in 2022 after working as a faculty member at Sam Houston State University.
While Seering initially thought the film would develop into an even longer documentary, the potential format has changed a bit simply because she’s relocated to central Pennsylvania. Still, the BEA accolade was reaffirming after two windy days of filming in Texas and hours of editing afterward.
“With most film festivals you either get an acceptance or rejection and if you get a rejection, you don’t get feedback. With BEA you get feedback, and knowing the quality of work they expect and tend to award, I thought it was worth giving it a shot,” Seering said. “It was good to get that peer recognition and know it’s on the right track and the work toward something bigger.”
The film also earned Best Short Documentary, Best Sound and Best Music at the Prison City Film Festival in Huntsville, Texas. It was recently accepted into QFest St. Louis and the San Francisco Documentary Film Festival.
Seering’s plan is to develop the project into a docuseries — adding more credits to an already productive career in filmmaking that she’s happy to share with Penn State students. She owns her own production company, Night Owl Productions, and has secured more than three dozen IMDB credits as a producer, director and editor. She also has a storytelling background that includes journalism and photography.
With that varied skillset, she especially enjoys balancing teaching and production.
“Because I’ve stayed active and I’m not that far out of grad school, it’s easy for me to share experiences I’ve had on set with students,” Seering said. “I think it’s helpful and makes it easier for me to tie things together.”
Seering, who earned her master of fine arts degree at Loyola Marymount University and her bachelor’s degree at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, said time management plays an important part for filmmakers as they seek to balance daily challenges and potential projects while making room to remain fresh and creatively motivated.
Along with combining her career work and classroom efforts to support students, Seering invariably looks for ways to chronicle stories in her community. She sees many options at and around Penn State.
“As a filmmaker, you’re kind of always looking,” she said. “Plus, it’s important to get involved in a community. So, I’m excited about what might be next.”