Alicia Vikander Chose Not to Watch Her Own Film Before Its Venice Premiere
Alicia Vikander walked into the Venice Film Festival this year without having seen the final cut of her own film. The Oscar-winning actress deliberately avoided watching "The Echo Chamber" before its premiere on the Lido, preferring to experience it for the first time alongside the festival audience (The Hollywood Reporter).
"The Echo Chamber" is the fourth feature from director Andrea Pallaoro, working from the final screenplay by Bernardo Bertolucci — the legendary Italian film-maker behind "Last Tango in Paris" and "The Last Emperor," who completed the script before his death in 2018 (The Hollywood Reporter). Pallaoro previously directed the 2023 film "Monica" (The Hollywood Reporter).
The film charts the love story between Vikander's character Anne and Leo, played by Italian actor Luca Marinelli. The Hollywood Reporter described the pair as lovers trapped in a bond they can neither escape nor relinquish (The Hollywood Reporter). Susan Sarandon co-stars as Ava, a fellow musician and creative partner of Leo. The official festival synopsis describes the film as being about the residues people leave inside one another — memories, wounds, desires, dependencies — and the ways relationships can become spaces (Biennale).
Though set in London, "The Echo Chamber" was filmed in Rome. It is an Italy-Belgium co-production from Indigo Film, produced by Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori and Viola Prestieri (Biennale). The film runs 123 minutes and screens in the Venezia 83 Competition on 6 September 2026 at 19:45 in the Sala Grande — the festival's main hall (Biennale).
Vikander's connection to the project runs through a friendship that began at the Marrakech Film Festival, where she and Pallaoro were both receiving awards. To prepare for the role of Anne, she mapped out the script in chronological order, tracing her character's emotional journey scene by scene (The Hollywood Reporter). Vikander, who married actor Michael Fassbender in 2017, is a familiar face on the Lido: she premiered "The Wizard of the Kremlin" at Venice the previous year (The Hollywood Reporter).
The Hollywood Reporter named "The Echo Chamber" among the most prominent Italian titles in the 2026 Venice competition lineup when the festival announced its selections in July (The Hollywood Reporter). The Venice Film Festival, held annually on the Lido di Venezia, is one of the world's oldest and most prestigious film festivals, and its competition lineup is closely watched as a launchpad for the autumn awards season.
For Vikander, the decision not to watch the finished film before Venice is a striking one. Most actors see a rough cut, a final cut, or several versions in between before a film meets its audience. She chose to let the Sala Grande be her first viewing — and the festival's first verdict.
