Daviess County native Molly Trunnell has made a name for herself in the filmmaking industry. Her career has taken her from local sets to the bustling streets of New York and L.A., and she’s even had the opportunity to work on a Dolly Parton music video.
Now, she has her sights set on a passion project: a documentary about her grandmother, Shirley Trunnell. Shirley spent more than 50 years as an educator in the local public school system, touching the lives of countless generations of children during her tenure.
Molly was driving one afternoon and searching for inspiration for her next project when she came up with the idea. She quickly posted on Facebook to gauge the community’s interest and was overwhelmed by the response.
“I immediately had several reactions and heard several stories about my grandmother I had never heard before,” Molly said. “She impacted so many lives in Utica and Owensboro. Several former students she had crossed paths with reached out with an abundance of stories.”
Molly spent some time with a Nashville-based film crew interviewing her grandmother and several local community members. Her inspiration for the project stems from a desire to tell Shirley’s story and keep her legacy alive.
“This is definitely a passion project,” Molly said. “I want to create a memoir about who she is and who she’s inspired — a touching story to keep her memory alive.”
Shirley has always been a nature enthusiast, a passion she frequently incorporated in her classroom.
“She has always been a major advocate for nature, bringing it into her classroom and even creating a nature center in Utica,” Molly said. “She loved the Land Between the Lakes and would take classes there often. She talked about the need for diversity in nature, the trees, and flowers; I learned everything I know about nature from her.”
Shirley met her husband and Molly’s grandfather, Myrel, at Utica High School in the ’40s. They graduated high school in 1952 and married in 1953. After nearly 70 years of marriage, Myrel died in 2022. Molly acknowledged the impact the loss of Myrel has had on her grandmother.
Molly graduated from Belmont University in Nashville in May of 2022, just 2 weeks after her grandfather’s passing. Since graduating, she’s worked as a freelancer on several projects, including music videos, commercials, reality television shows, and corporate videos.
Her passion has always lied in documentaries, though.
“Documentaries are so close to my heart because of how you hear about people’s lives,” she said. “Everyone has a story to tell, and documentaries hold that space for that character study of these amazing and interesting people.”
She added that she admires how documentaries can unfold a story while capturing its authenticity.
“That’s the biggest drive for filming them,” she said. “It’s exciting getting to catch all these day-to-day mundane tasks of the character. It’s their everyday; it’s all they know, and every day is different for everyone.”
Molly plans to finish the documentary this fall and host a showing at Panther Creek Baptist Church, where Shirley has been a lifelong member.
Because it is a passion project, Molly must fund her efforts and is asking the community for help. To learn more about the project or to contribute, visit her Facebook page here.
