Bill Nighy and David Hare present 'Page Eight' at the International Rome Film Festival

Bill Nighy on the red carpet at Rome Film Festival

This year's edition of the International Rome Film Festival has dedicated its Focus section to British cinema showing a series of new-release British productions such as David Hare's Page Eight, as well as classics selected by British actors, screenwriters and directors divided into 'Punks' or 'Patriots'. To celebrate this event the red carpet has been designed by floral artist to the Royal family Simon J. Lycett. Fresh from arranging the flowers for the wedding of Prince William and Kate earlier this year, he has decked the film festival red carpet with highly unusual Union flags made out of red apples and cabbages!

Page Eight was originally created as a television movie for the BBC, but this impeccably written and beautifully acted film has recently been shown on the big screen too at film festivals in Toronto and Warsaw. Page Eight stars several leading British names - Rachel Weisz, Michael Gambon, Ralph Fiennes - and one of my personal favourite actors, Bill Nighy, who joined the writer and director David Hare on the red carpet signing dozens of autographs and posing for photographs for fans. Later, as an unexpected surprise, they both appeared on stage in a packed Sala Sinopoli yesterday afternoon at the special screening of the film. After David Hare had explained a little about the production of the movie, Bill Nighy appeared to huge cheers and delighted the audience with a story of an Italian girl he had fallen in love with back in 1968 and making a plea as to whether she was in the audience! Unmissable!

To get a taste of the event watch the video of David Hare and Bill Nighy on the red carpet and in Sala Sinopoli below (or click here to watch on YouTube).