My verdict: five stars out of five.
Heartwarming, thought-provoking, tear-jerking and joyful. Sunny Dancer took me through all of those feelings, sometimes within moments of one another. I hung on every word, held on to every character and believed what they were saying.
I was invited to an exclusive screening at Everyman Glasgow, with some of the cast in attendance and a live Q&A afterwards. It was a lovely way to encounter a film that gives you plenty to talk about on the journey home.
The invitation brought me into the cinema. The storytelling kept me completely there.
A summer worth believing in
Written and directed by George Jaques, Sunny Dancer follows Ivy, played by Bella Ramsey, a 17-year-old cancer survivor whose parents send her to a summer camp for young people affected by the disease. She arrives reluctantly. What follows opens into friendship, first love, rebellion and the complicated business of being young.
That is what I found so affecting. These characters have endured something enormous, but they still have personalities, desires and a sense of humour. Their experiences inform them without becoming the only thing we are allowed to see.
There is a generosity in giving young people that space on screen. They can be awkward, funny, frustrated and hopeful. They can want the same things other teenagers want, even when their lives have taken a very different route to get there.
For me, that made the emotion feel earned. I cared about the people, so I cared about what happened to them.
The joy is what stays with you
A film with this premise could be a difficult prospect for an evening out. What impressed me was how much life Sunny Dancer finds within it. The humour makes you feel closer to the characters, and the sadness carries weight because you have shared in their happiness too.
Bella Ramsey gives Ivy a presence I found utterly convincing. Across the ensemble, I kept finding people to care about. The cast also includes Daniel Quinn-Toye, Ruby Stokes, Earl Cave, Jasmine Elcock and Conrad Khan, alongside Jessica Gunning, James Norton and Neil Patrick Harris.
I do not want to give away the moments that moved me most. This is a film I would encourage you to meet for yourself. What I can say is that I was emotionally invested throughout. I laughed, I felt the sadness, and I left thinking about the joy.
That balance is difficult to achieve. Here, it is the reason for my five stars.
A personal story behind the screenplay
The production notes explain that Jaques drew on his mother’s experience of cancer, as well as conversations with young people through his work with Teenage Cancer Trust. His research helped shape a story interested in the fullness of their lives.
Knowing that background adds another dimension to the film. It helps explain the care behind its approach: allowing friendship, humour and the search for independence to sit alongside experiences that are frightening and painful.
The film trusts us to recognise that those feelings can coexist. I found that deeply moving.
Made in Scotland
There is an additional reason to celebrate Sunny Dancer here. It was filmed on location in Scotland, including Auchengillan Outdoor Centre, with support from Screen Scotland.
Watching a production with that Scottish connection at a Glasgow screening felt particularly special. Having premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival earlier this year, it is taking a story made here to audiences far beyond Scotland.
Our locations, creative talent and production community deserve to be part of that conversation. This is a lovely reminder of the stories Scotland helps bring to the screen.
A conversation after the credits
The live Q&A was hosted by my dear friend Zander Murray. Having that conversation after such an affecting film made the screening feel all the more memorable.
As a host and presenter myself, I appreciate the value of giving an audience time to stay with a story once the credits finish. Sunny Dancer certainly deserves that space. Its themes invite conversation, and the evening gave us an opportunity to reflect on what we had just watched.
My verdict
Sunny Dancer is a film with heart, humour and people I believed in. It made me think, it brought tears, and it reminded me how powerful a joyful story can be when it takes its characters seriously.
I held on to every character because I wanted to know them. I hung on every word because I believed them. That is the response I hope for when I take my seat in a cinema, and it is exactly what this film gave me.
Five stars. A film I wholeheartedly recommend making time for.
Sunny Dancer opens in UK and Irish cinemas on 14 August 2026, distributed in the UK by True Brit Entertainment.
