Bella Ramsey finds belonging in teen cancer drama ‘Sunny Dancer’

Bella Ramsey tackles a wide range of emotions in "Sunny Dancer", a comedy-drama about a summer camp for teenagers affected by cancer.

"The Last of Us" star plays Ivy, an isolated 17-year-old in remission from leukemia, who reluctantly agrees to attend the month-long camp to appease her parents, played by James Norton and Jessica Gunning.

After a rocky start, Ivy forges a tight bond with a group of camp regulars, as they join activities, break rules, drink, flirt, and share cancer jokes.

An abundance of humour balanced out the project's tougher material, Ramsey said.

"Some days we'd do really intense scenes and some of the most joyful scenes back to back."

Ramsey, 22, started acting at a young age and relished the opportunity to portray a teenager alongside like-minded people.

"I was relieved that coming into 'Sunny Dancer' everyone was the same sort of level. We all went to the pub, had one drink and then went home because we were tired," Ramsey said. "I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up. It felt really authentic and not like I was having to force myself to have fun."

Writer-director George Jaques knew he wanted to make a cancer film for his second feature, but wanted to "make it funny and outrageous", avoiding cliches and stereotypes. Jaques drew on his experiences watching his mother endure cancer and working with a teenage cancer charity.

"I wanted to make a cancer movie where cancer was the least interesting thing about these young people, a film about joy and finding your tribe and realising that actually everyone else is as weird as you are," he said.

The actor-turned-filmmaker, 26, encouraged his cast to inhabit their characters and experiment.

"After we had done the script, they would do one feral take, which was basically where they could improv and go a bit wild, and sometimes it'd be genius and sometimes it would be terrible," he said.

"Sunny Dancer" begins its global theatrical rollout on Wednesday, with screenings organised for cancer-affected youth ahead of its release.

"I'm sure not every young survivor will feel seen with this film, but a hell of a lot of them do. And I feel really deeply proud of that," said Jaques.

-Reporting by Hanna Rantala; editing by Philippa Fletcher/Reuters