Keira Knightley's next film

In the film, Knightley and Pearson Wright play Elizabethan courtiers who are lost in a maze, which is a metaphor for a relationship breaking down. The actress tries to bore her way through a hedge to get to her lover, played by the painter.

In an interview with The Independent, the 25-year-old English actress said: "I loved the idea of doing something that was purely creative, weird and wonderful, and not a commercial venture." The film marks a startling departure for Knightley, who is more often seen in big-budget movies such as Atonement and the Pirates of the Caribbean series.

She agreed to star in Pearson Wright's film for free, using a bedroom in a bed-and-breakfast near Longleat Safari Park as a dressing room during filming. She said she had no problem improvising Elizabethan dialogue or wearing a heavy dress and wig, having had practice with similarly cumbersome outfits in The Duchess.

Knightley, who met the artist in 2007, said: "Ideas were emailed and then developed at Stuart's studio over cupcakes and tea, and a film piece was decided on: a collision of our worlds."

Pearson Wright said he couldn't believe his luck when Knightley agreed to appear in his film. "The juxtaposition of a Hollywood actress in period costume with a very contemporary shooting style, being jostled about by a jumpy camera, is an incongruous and uncomfortable one," he said.