Vikander to Debut 'The Echo Chamber' at Venice Without Prior Screening

Alicia Vikander plans to see Andrea Pallaoro's competition film 'The Echo Chamber' for the first time with a Venice audience, calling the experience both special and terrifying. The Oscar winner stars opposite Luca Marinelli in a love story based on Bernardo Bertolucci's final screenplay, with Susan Sarandon in a supporting role. Vikander, a festival regular, praised the project as an example of the bold filmmaking she admires.

Vikander first connected with director Andrea Pallaoro backstage at the Marrakech Film Festival, where both were receiving awards while Martin Scorsese was present. Their friendship developed over subsequent years, and she became an admirer of his work. When she learned Luca Marinelli was attached, she was already familiar with his performances and quickly agreed to the project.

The production shot primarily in Rome, though the story takes place in London, with Pallaoro insisting on replacing the apartment's windows with English-style frames. Vikander mapped out the nonlinear script chronologically to better understand her character, and the crew attempted to film in sequence to preserve the relationship's authentic evolution. She has deliberately avoided seeing the finished edit.