What sorts of stories are told through someone’s personal possessions? In my job as an associate producer at National Geographic, I’m constantly sifting through videos, searching for amazing work to add to the Short Film Showcase. I’m often looking for pieces like Gemma Green-Hope’s poignant film Gan-Gan—which uses stop-motion animation to show the relationship between a granddaughter and grandmother.

The film’s description immediately struck a chord with me:

“My grandmother Elizabeth (or Gan-Gan as I called her) was a force of nature; she was wonderful … After her death in 2010, I helped my father and uncle sort through some of her possessions. I inherited some of her clothes to wear, books to read, a bicycle to ride. But how do you make sense