The short film that started it all

Still from Gan-Gan

“I want to catalogue her life and all its treasures. I want to show her to myself”

When I was in my first year of university my grandmother died. She was a really unique woman and a big character. I got on the train to Devon to help sort out her stuff with my Dad.

While I was there I bought a disposable camera and took loads of photos to try and capture her house as it was, one last time, so I could remember.

Four years later I had graduated and was working in retail again. I found those pictures and felt moved to create something that captured her essence, so I wouldn’t forget.

Evenings after work and weekends I worked away on my short film Gan-Gan. It was something I felt compelled to make without really thinking about sharing it, but I uploaded it to Vimeo, where it started to get a lot of views.

Suddenly it was a staff pick! The views shot up and up and it was short of the week, national geographic, film festivals, blogs! I couldn’t believe it! Then the offers of work came in.

That staff pick meant a lot to me and that film got me my first animation jobs for Penguin Books and The School of Life. I built up enough work to quit my job in retail and I’ve been running my own business ever since! It was a huge springboard for my career and I feel so lucky.

It feels as though it came from her.