Land Grant Films Team Produces Award-Winning Short Documentary on Blind Woodworker
Senior Carter Moore interviewing Greenville, Tennessee native and woodworker George Wurtzel for the Land Grant Films short documentary “Carving The Creative Vision”.
In small-town America, there always seems to be that person everyone knows who perfectly reflects what that community is all about.
This phenomenon is what prompted Nick Geidner, School of Journalism and Media professor and Land Grant Films director, in 2023 to pitch to the student documentary production team a series highlighting unique individuals from various small Tennessee communities.
While the full series has not yet developed, the team’s initial research introduced them to Greenville, Tennessee native and woodworker George Wurtzel.
What makes Wurtzel unique among other woodworkers? He is legally blind.
Wurtzel has retinitis pigmentosa, a rare eye disease that affects the retina causing the cells to break down over time and cause vision loss. There is no cure for the disease, but vision aids and rehabilitation can help people with the disease make the most of what vision they do have remaining.
Wurtzel is an accomplished full-time cabinetmaker, countertop builder, and fine furniture maker at GM Wurtzel Custom Furniture & Designs.
School of Journalism and Media senior Carter Moore said while Wurtzel can still discern broad shapes and colors, he navigates the world with his hands, which are also crucial for his craft.
“He talked about how he can feel the exact details of the grain and he can just feel everything that he’s doing,” Moore said. “He knows every in-and-out of every tool that he uses and once he’s got the block of wood in front of him, knows exactly what he wants to make.”
Even though the full series was put on hiatus, Moore said the students felt Wurtzel’s story was one worth telling and over the past few months produced an award-winning documentary highlighting Wurtzel’s story titled Carving The Creative Vision.
The film focuses on Wurtzel’s unique creative process and explores how his teaching style highlights that his blindness is not a limitation but instead details how art can be more than a visual medium.
Moore said another big part of the film was showing how Wurtzel is a member of the Greenville community. He is originally from Michigan, but after moving to Tennessee has already become an integral member of the community. He is a member of the Greene County Makers, a technology and art collective that supports makers—individuals who work in electronics, woodworking, 3D printing, robotics, arts and crafts, and more.
Students and faculty working on the project include Geidner, Assistant Professor Ahmad Hayat, Moore, and Eliza Noell and AlexaLin Moses, also both undergraduate students.
Hayat said students were involved in every aspect of the project, adding the experience helps them really grow as aspiring filmmakers. Hayat said the traditional format is for a professor to demonstrate a process in class, then students going out on their own to practice. However, by working together they were able to receive real-time feedback as well as observe how professionals work, which Hayat thinks is invaluable in this industry.
The 10-minute documentary premiered in February at an event hosted by Knox Makers, which is a nonprofit technology and art collective in Knoxville. The documentary was also recently selected for screening at this year’s Tennessee International Indie Film Festival. The festival takes place November 14-17 in Franklin, Tennessee, and the Highlands Roadshow Film Festival.
The documentary has also won the Award of Excellence in the Mixed Pedagogical category in the 2025 Broadcast Education Association’s Festival of Media Arts.
“The award is a testament to the amazing work of our students and reflective of the collaborative nature of the School of Journalism and Media,” Assistant Professor Ahmad Hayat said.
Land Grant Films Team Produces Award-Winning Short Documentary on Blind Woodworker written by Ernest Rollins and originally published on the College of Communication & Information site.