Sunny Dancer's Jasmine Elcock on first ever feature film

We sat down with theatre star and actress Jasmine Elcock to discuss working on her first ever feature film, Sunny Dancer, acting alongside Bella Ramsey and being vulnerable in a new way. 

Fadeke Banjo: Sunny Dancer marks your film debut after a strong background in theatre. What drew you to this project and what was it like on a film set compared to being on stage? 

Jasmine Elcock: It was very different. I'll say that. It also happened so quickly. 

At the time, I was working as a ticketing assistant at Southbank Centre, and I was just auditioning for things. It was just another audition I did and two weeks later, I found myself in Glasgow and I'm working with Bella Ramsey, and I was like, "This is just insane.”

I think the first week of the project, George Jaques, who wrote it, had us do a rehearsal week, and if I'm honest, that was a nice ease into it for me because I'm so used to rehearsals, as I have a strong theatre background. So it was actually kind of nice to ease into it with a format that I'm familiar with, but it was such a huge contrast to what I'm used to. 

I had to learn all of this film terminology, like what a dolly is and what a take one is and, how all all of the people in the background have a specific part to play in what it is you see on your screen, so it was a huge learning curve and so different, but so fun.

FB: That is amazing to hear like the backstory of how you're auditioning for things and then how this project came around for you. 

How did you approach showing your character, Maisie as a regular teenager beyond their cancer survivor status, and why was it important to balance the lighter moments that we saw on screen and also the emotional moments as well?

JE: I think George did a good job in writing this story so that it didn't centre around a hospital, which so many cancer films do. So, I think that allowed all of us to see these characters past them as cancer survivors or whatever status they were in their cancer treatment. It allowed us to give them more freedom and more wilderness to be explored. 

In order for us to show them as these full-rounded people, it's important that we have these humorous moments and we see them having fun. But as well as that, showcase that this is something they're going through. So we're not just going to be ignorant to it. We are going to fool them and show them in their full light, and so like I, I like it was emotional and like I'd say dark moments, but I think they're all just moments in these characters' lives that we're just going through.

FB: I remember there was a moment that the group were discussing survivor guilt, losing loved ones to cancer, and coming to terms with the fact that their cancer could come back. There was a particular scene where one of the characters found out some sad news and your characters were quite close. How was it filming that emotional scene? 

JE: I remember when we were filming it, we did it as a group, because it was a group scene. But then George wanted the other four members to come off camera, so they went, and it was just me and Earl's character, Ralph. So they did a close up on just us two, and I think that actually helped because we are quite close in the film, and I think that needed to be just like zoomed in on a little bit more, and I think it helped with the others not being there because, essentially, that piece of information rocks everyone, and I think it was a real close moment and personal moment that you see between our two characters. 

But doing that scene was, I don't know. Like during the whole project, we were having so much fun. But alongside that, in real life, we were all actually experiencing news about either family members of ours or friends that had been going through cancer, and so it was really strange for us to be portraying these characters in this story, but then experiencing it in real life. 

So when we did that scene, it kind of reminded us why we're doing this, and that we're doing it to show that these cancer films can just be more than centred around hospitals. But, it is a film that is about cancer so scenes like that just kind of give us all a reality check and remind us that we are showcasing real life stories, real people. Yes, they're made up for the film, but these are real lives essentially that we are having to portray. 

It was a tough scene, but a really important scene. 

FB: I feel like it showed the full spectrum of these characters. That yes, they're cancer survivors, and there is that lived experience. It’s robbed them of their childhood in a way, but it's also shown them their teenagers that they want to have fun and everything. I feel like that was balanced really well. And what was a favourite scene that you loved to shoot that you can remember? Like how was it on that day shooting it? 

JE: I'd say the lake scene was probably my favourite. Just not only the scene, but just the whole day, because that water is freezing. It's so cold, and I'll be honest, I can't really swim that well. So I was thinking to myself, "Look, guys, we're just gonna have to go in, do this and get out in one take.” 

Then he [George] comes and he's like, "Guys, we need to do one more,” but it was fun because we were all in it together. 

But prior to that during the day, whilst they were setting up the cameras in the lake, which is also another mad thing, the cameramen have to go in these wetsuits because they're obviously having to come in the water with us and we have these precautionary talks with people that were on the site. 

We got the chance to go up a hill that was just like a few yards away from where we were shooting and George had this huge boombox that he'd bring to set sometimes, just to allow everyone to have a bit of fun. So us lot, the core group, were just dancing on top of this hill, and I think it was to help us get hyped up for this lake scene.

FB: Music is such a central character in this film. You know, we've got I Don't Feel Like Dancin' being the anthem for the group. What is a song that’s part of your feel good playlist that you'd like to share with us? 

JE: Remi Wolf, an American artist, she makes kind of wacky songs, but they're good. She's got a song called Cinderella, in the chorus, she's like, I can be yellow, I can be beige by the afternoon, and I'm purple. Like she kind of goes through all these colours that she can be to emulate the kind of moods that she goes through literally throughout 24 hours, and it puts me in a really good mood because like it's an uplifting song and it just reminds us that moods change and that's okay. 

But, one song I wish I had on Spotify from the film is a song that the artist CMAT made specifically for the film, and it's during the scene where we're all in the kayaks and we're doing our rowing. 

FB: What did you take away from being part of Sunny Dancer and what do you hope audiences will take from watching the film? 

JE: I took away so much in being on a film set for the first time. I learnt a lot about cancer, cancer diagnoses and cancer prognoses and the different types that there are, the different treatments that there are. I'll just speak for myself. I didn't think to consider the stages, the effects, what the difference is between a diagnosis and a prognosis? 

I think the last statistic I saw was like, one in two, but there are so many people living with it. There are so many people who have it embedded in their lifestyle, like we saw with these young characters.

FB: What do you imagine your character is doing now? Do you imagine them maybe coming back to the camp as a volunteer or reuniting with the crew?

JE: That is a good question. What's Maisie doing? Maybe she's trying to implement some spirituality to the camp. You know, she's got her own little taro tent that she sets up and annoys the rest of the volunteers. 

Sunny Dancer is available to watch in selected UK cinemas now.