Faculty Spotlight: Professor Catriona Baker’s Film Ball Lightning Shines on International Stage

Lesley University animation professor Catriona Baker and her student-led crew recently took their film, Ball Lightning, to dazzling new heights at the Septimius Awards in Amsterdam. One of only nine films selected among thousands of international entries, Ball Lightning marked not only a victory for Baker but also for alumni crew members Serena Bartlett (Pre-Production Manager/Animator) and Isaac Donnelly (Animator), who experienced the red carpet alongside Baker.

“It was absolutely mind blowing. I haven’t worked on anything in the past that got this kind of traction,” said Donnelly, reflecting on the film’s meteoric rise on the festival circuit. “Instead, I’m getting a group text from Trina every other week reading: ‘Just got into another one! Yay!!’” 

Ball Lightning is a film of love, resilience, and the trauma of war, chronicling an intergenerational story centered on a German refugee mother who ultimately gives her daughter to strangers for a better life, a narrative inspired by Baker’s own family history.

The entire film unfolds in hand-drawn animation, often in the style of a child’s sketchbook, with more than 110 watercolor backgrounds and 52 oil paintings on panel, produced over five years.

Selected in the festival’s experimental category, Ball Lightning was notably the only entirely animated film and the only submission to include student work.

“This felt like I’d finally stepped foot into the big leagues,” said Bartlett about the event. “I actually had a lot of imposter syndrome being there. I was like, ‘Me? I’m just basically fresh out of school.’ But being on that red carpet for a film I spent years on was a crazy experience.”

For Donnelly, the trip to Amsterdam contained several firsts: “First red-carpet event. First time going to Europe. First solo trip as an adult, and first time renting a tuxedo. It was thrilling to be in the room with so many outstanding nominees, ranging from actors to directors, costume designers to audio engineers and so much more.”

As the only student-powered film at an event filled with major studio productions, walking the carpet together was both surreal and gratifying for the crew.

“To think our students were in that room, walking the carpet and being part of this. It felt like we had arrived, and we’re in the game,” Baker said.

With 26 awards and a dozen upcoming festival screenings, Ball Lightning continues its global journey fueled by Baker’s resilience and a talented Lesley cohort.