Sunny Dancer (Jaques, 2026) Review: Life is About Living, Not Just Surviving

The years encompassing childhood should be filled with joy, exploration and self discovery. It is the chance for kids to learn about the world, their family, friends and themselves. Growing up is an international experience. No matter where they are from, they tend to each have their own struggles internally and feel some of the same emotions. Unfortunately, not all are given this chance. Many are forced to mature early due to the most unforeseen, unexpected and unnecessary reasons. Not every child is lucky. So when you are given the chance to live, as opposed to simply survive, the best thing you can do is take it. 

British cinema can be something that inspires the youth and emotionally affect viewers of any age. With opportunities coming to new voices all the time, there have been many films made recently based in the UK creating a homey and welcoming space. With his second feature-film, writer-director George Jaques brings Sunny Dancer to the 76th Berlin Film Festival. A heartfelt film that takes viewers on a journey with a group of teenage cancer survivors. Taking the all too known experience of early maturing and combining it with an illness no one should have, Jaques brings his audience down a fresh and comforting path. 

Sunny Dancer2026

Ten months in remission from Leukaemia, 17-year-old Ivy (Bella Ramsey) wants to be more than the person that people feel sorry for, the “Make-A-Wish” kid. Since being home from the hospital, Ivy’s parents believe they are losing their daughter to depression and reclusiveness. To give her a chance to interact with kids like her, they send Ivy to Children Run Free Camp. At this summer retreat for youth affected by cancer, lead director Patrick (Neil Patrick Harris) wants Ivy to succeed just as much as her parents do. With no hope in herself, Ivy does not believe these four weeks will be worth it. Yet as time passes, Ivy meets the regular group of attendees — Jake (Daniel Quinn Toye), Ella (Ruby Stokes), Ralph (Earl Cave), Maisie (Jasmine Elcock), and Archie (Conrad Khan) — and friendships are formed. 

Stemming from South London himself, audiences familiar with British culture will understand just how well Jaques crafted Ivy’s world. He welcomes the viewer into the film with music that need not be from the present, but that sets the scene. Perhaps more recognizable for a British audience, there are still elements there for everyone. Setting the scene in young Ivy’s bedroom gives the audience the chance to remember what it was like to be that age. Or, for those who are, it allows them to be welcomed into Ivy’s life. The magic in Sunny Dancer comes from the way in which everyone understands the want to be seen and heard. Being sent off to cancer camp is not the way in which Ivy felt heard in the slightest. 

“…talk to me directly rather than talking through me.”

It is to no surprise that Bella Ramsay’s performance leads the film. For years now they have developed the reputation of an up-and-coming young actor to look out for. If anything, Sunny Dancer further cements this. While Quinn-Toye, Stokes, Cave, Elcock, Khan and even Patrick Harris are all crucial to the film’s success, Ramsay holds the key to capturing the heart and mind of the individual viewer. As Ivy is taken out of her shell, adults around her seemingly are on her nerves, represented through Ramsay’s facial expressions alone. While their anger comes out in words as well, it is what they can show without having said anything that is the strength of the performance. Ivy learns numerous life lessons and witnesses many things in the four weeks at CRF camp. Highs and lows, all of which we see through Ramsay’s panache on top of the film itself.

There is something comforting about a film made for young people when its protagonist is the lonely outcast. Perhaps it comes from my own personal recognition, but with Ivy as the cancer inflicted character, another layer is added to the film. Though we are witnessing a treacherous reality that is rarely spoken of, for kids everywhere, we can also connect through the experience of adolescence. Rarely are there films that represent the inconceivable truth that is childhood cancer. But Jaques attempts to do so, bring comfort and emotion to these kids. An inspiring and influential story, we are driven to care for each one of them and develop an understanding, though we will never truly understand what they have gone through and continue to. 

“We don’t get to choose who lives and who doesn’t. You deserve to take up space.”

Sunny Dancer has every emotion in the book. You go from being welcomed into a loving home to Ivy’s feelings of loneliness and being the odd one out; happiness and love finding friends; learning about growing up from Patrick; and sadly, even the inevitable loss of loved ones. What you experience as a viewer takes precedence over the intricacies of the plot itself. A story that allows children inflicted with cancer to see themselves represented. But also one that gives you the chance to think about life and what makes it worth living. 

"The people that we meet make it all worth it.”

Applying it much more to those in remission than one who has not experienced cancer, or its treatments, life is not just surviving, we must learn to live. A universal concept that shines through in Sunny Dancer. Jaques put passion and knowledge into his script and direction that allowed for Ramsay’s portrayal to truly connect with the viewer. Of course Sunny Dancer might be a different experience depending on the viewer, for those it truly connects with, it will change their perspective. For, the impact of cinema genuinely is for those it is made for. Not everything is for everyone, but what should be for sure is the understanding of the message presented in Sunny Dancer.