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Norwegian premiere
4 min 30 sCanada2026

Ball Face

by Laurence Thérien

Stop-motionClaymation

Life throws curveballs, whether you catch them or not. It’s how you react that determines whether you survive. Ball Face follows a middle school girl who, terrified of sports, survives a chaotic ball game by accidentally bouncing a ball off her face, discovering an unconventional tactic that leads to victory. By the end of the game, she’s completely transformed.

Laurence Thérien is a Montréal-based director, designer, and animator with a focus on tangible art forms and claymation. She completed a M.A. in Animation at the Royal College of Art in 2025, where she directed her graduate film Ball Face. During her studies at UQAM’s School of Design, she explored moving image through experimental shorts such as Rabies, which screened internationally, including at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. Laurence has collaborated as a creative director with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) and the Festival International du Film sur l’Art (FIFA) and received a special mention at Les Sommets du cinéma d’animation pitch contest in 2024. She is currently developing her next film with the NFB.

animation
Laurence Thérien
production
Laurence Thérien
screenwriter
Laurence Thérien
school
Royal College of Art