A Conversation With Award-Winning Filmmaker: Jostin Woods

Located in the heart of Appalachia, Jostin Woods, a proud recent graduate from East Tennessee State University, is making waves in the filmmaking industry.

“Jostin was always a thoughtful student who brought a unique perspective to my classroom. So, I wasn't at all surprised when I saw how well his Capstone project turned out,” said his former professor ETSU Lecturer Brad Bode.

Woods' documentary, “George: A Well-Crafted Life”, won the Award of Excellence at the distinguished Broadcasting Education Association’s 2025 Festival of Arts. Woods beat out nearly 2,300 entries from over 300 schools in the international competition.

The film tells the story of blind woodworking artist George Wurtzel's life. It showcases his diverse experiences from his time on the U.S. Paralympic cross-country ski team to his involvement in competitive horseback riding. It also explores his journey to Greeneville, Tennessee, establishing his woodworking business, specializing in handcrafted biscuit cutters.

“His short documentary, "George: A Well-Crafted Life" is a fantastic example of compelling visual storytelling. I'm thrilled he was recognized by the BEA for his work,” Bode said.

Woods graduated in 2024 with a bachelor of science in Media and Communication (MCOM), with a minor in Radio, Television and Film.

Overlooked In Appalachia recently sat down with Woods to learn about him as a person and filmmaker, and what went into making his award-winning film.

Woods’ future is now pursuing directing and film production. He plans to draw from his own experiences. He says he feels “in [his] wheelhouse” when sharing information with others. He wishes to share what he has learned with other people and loves when people create things that he can learn from as well.  

Here’s our Q and A with the MCOM 2024 alum:

Q: You were formerly working in architecture before transitioning to filmmaking. What was that journey like for you? 

In 2019, I graduated with a degree in architectural design and I worked in that for about a year. I definitely learned some things about perspective and design of course and worked in that (industry) until the Covid (pandemic). When Covid came around, I sort of had an opportunity to switch directions. That’s when I decided to go back to school at ETSU the next year and finished up in 2024.

Q: What made you choose to switch from architecture to Media and Communication?

My dad worked in architecture and I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a long time. I graduated high school in 2013 so I’m a little bit older than a lot of my peers that I ended up going back to school with, so I didn’t really have a dead set direction for a long time and because it was something that ran in the family. I decided to go the architecture route. It wasn’t something I could necessarily see myself doing for the rest of my life.

I’d always been interested in some form of communications and media. It just seemed like a natural fit for me, but it didn’t come right away either because when I first came back to school I majored in political science and I was actually going to be a teacher. I did a semester of that and I decided that wasn’t for me either. I ended up going in the right direction and thankfully in the end, everything worked out.

Q: What did winning the Award of Excellence mean to you? 

For one, it was validation of coming back and enhancing my skills and knowing that I was in the right program. It meant a lot to me that I was able to use my creativity to tell a story that resonated with somebody. It really speaks volumes to the support you get in the program and from ETSU overall. I was really proud to have represented ETSU and especially the Media and Communication department in that way.  

Q. What was the filming process like? 

It certainly wasn’t easy. I first wanted to go a different direction. I had another story in mind and it was a little bit longer [and] more involved. I had everything written up – a 15-page summary submitted of what I was going to do and things fell through about the second month in. That left me with about eight weeks to try to get the wheels turning. . .and it just kind of hit me. George would be great to do a story on. 

Q: What drew you to George’s story?

It was a convenient story in a lot of ways because he’s right here in my hometown. . . and I’d known of George, but I didn’t know him personally at that point.

We’d had some mutual connections, and I had heard little anecdotes about his life and conversations other people had with him. I knew about his work because when he first moved to Greeneville he was featured in the paper pretty prominently – this master woodworker was going to be opening up a shop here in East Tennessee.

He’s one of these guys that’s hard to miss. I was really fortunate that I had someone who had that unique of a story so close by.

Q. Since you only had eight weeks for production, did you have to adjust or take things out in any way?

It made the filming process a little shorter than I would have liked it to be. George is such an interesting character that you could go on and on about the things that he’s done in his life.

There was a part I had to cut out just for pacing purposes [and] to keep the story more together. George actually went to the Michigan School for the Blind, and he went to school with Stevie Wonder. Some years later, Stevie Wonder was receiving an award. . . George was commissioned to make him a piece as a trophy for that award and he ended up reconvening with Stevie all those years later and Stevie remembered who he was.

 My process was to take the time to really nail down the audio because this is a guy who one of his senses is completely gone. I wanted the audience to have this sensory reaction to the film.

Q: What is the central message that you wanted to convey with this film? 

Live your life to its fullest potential. You may be lacking in something that someone else has, but you have your own unique gifts, and it doesn’t have to hamper your experience of the world and the life that you can live.  

On the other hand, one of the takeaways is that there’s more than meets the eye to people. You don’t always have to take somebody at face value and I think that’s a great lesson as it relates to anyone in life.

Q: Are there any upcoming projects or stories that you’re passionate about exploring next? 

I still want to make the original documentary that I intended to make. [Receiving that sort of award and validation] is propelling me to do that even more so.

That story is how here in Greeneville, Tennessee [we’re a] very agriculture-based community. It was basically going to talk about how tobacco used to be what the local economy thrived on. . . and as reports came out that cigarettes could cause cancer, the tobacco industry took a decline [which] hurt the local economy.

To stay in touch with Woods and his new work on social media:

Instagram @jbawoods and LinkedIn as Jostin Bo Woods.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.