Sarah is a teenage carer to a mother with mental health issues and two younger children, holding the family together by various means including financially by a part-time job. The film develops increasing pressures with caring, school and work on Sarah; who resorts to increasingly desperate measures to juggle conflicting requirements. Her drama teacher's end-of-school showcase as the film’s climax leads her to choose between life as a family carer and her newly discovered stand-up comedy talent.[1][2]
The film features and was predominantly shot in and around Margate, Kent.[1]
Release and reception
Jellyfish premiered at the 2018 Tribeca Film Festival.[1]The Guardian gave the film three stars out of five, calling it a "striking directorial debut" by Gardner, and "an astonishingly good performance" by Hill, although also highlighted "occasional stumbles – a few too many jabs at gentrification, a couple of misfiring performances, and in places the budget constraints really show."[1]
Accolades
Hill and Matthews jointly won the Best Performance in a British Feature Film award at the 2018 Edinburgh Film Festival.[3]
