Bizarre Ride

Adrenaline-fuelled adventure can take many forms: from simply meeting a like-minded stranger and instantly bonding, to kidnap, fighting for your life in the Coliseum or the terrible life of a child soldier. These films encompass all those events and many more. 　　5 metres 80 　　A herd of giraffe embarks on a series of acrobatic high dives at a deserted Olympic swimming pool. 　　Keeping up with the Joneses 　　MP’s wife Celia (Maxine Peake) discovers her husband’s true colours when she is taken hostage by his criminal business associates. 　　Something for Nothing 　　What happens when there is nothing to steal? 　　That Wasn’t Me 　　Aquel no Era Yo 　　Being a soldier is not difficult: the hard part is living with your memories and being yourself again after what you have done. 　　A Girl Named Elastika 　　Le grand voyage d’Elastika 　　Elastika is a unique girl. She is made of elastic and she lives in a universe made of cork. 　　The Slaughter 　　The story of a son learning some harsh truths at the hands of his embittered father. 　　The Coliseum, ancient Rome. Enormous, armour-clad gladiators eagerly await their turn to fight and die an honourable death. And then there’s Minimus. 　　Director biography 　　Jonathan (Johnny) Hopkins is an award-winning writer/director who began his career as an assistant on feature films. His credits include Alfonso Cuarón’s Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and Tim Burton’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. His first short film, Goodbye Mr Snuggles (starring James Fox and Robert Hardy), garnered awards and nominations worldwide. The film was selected for the Sundance Film Festival and the Saatchi & Saatchi New Directors Showcase at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. With his unique blend of imagination, humour and visual flare, Jonathan rapidly broke into commercials. He has directed popular campaigns for brands such as McDonalds, Cadbury’s Wispa, eBay, Peugeot and Malibu. His spot for Yeo Valley picked up three arrows at the British Television Advertising Awards, a D&AD and was voted in the top 10 TV ads of 2011 by Campaign magazine. If he’s not busy directing commercials, Jonathan spends his time developing television and feature film projects. His greatest influences include Peter Jackson, Sam Raimi, Robert Zemeckis, Steven Spielberg and Roald Dahl. 　　Minimus 　　The Coliseum, ancient Rome. Enormous, armour-clad gladiators eagerly await their turn to fight and die an honourable death. And then there’s Minimus. 　　That Night 　　A chance meeting on a London bus leads to a night of discovery and shared experiences. With James Corden.