Kristen Stewart Conquers Cannes With Her Directorial Debut: Applause for The Chronology of Water

On Friday night at the Cannes Film Festival, Kristen Stewart thrilled and moved the audience with her directorial debut. The Chronology of Water , an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's autobiography, received a warm reception and a four-and-a-half-minute standing ovation.

Kristen Stewart (AP)

05/17/2025

Stewart hugged his actors on the stage of the Palais des Festivals, thanking the audience and calling the work “still fresh out of the editing.” “We finished the film five minutes ago,” he said, with his usual spontaneity, as reported by The Hollywood Reporter. “I put everything on the screen. I have nothing else to add.” Stewart symbolically entrusted the film to the protagonist Imogen Poots: “Your body is this film, now it’s your turn.” Poots, moved, replied: “She’s the best director I could have had. I hope you enjoyed it."

Shot in Latvia and Malta over a period of six weeks, the film is produced by Scott Free Productions, with Ridley Scott also producing. In addition to Poots, the cast also includes Thora Birch, Earl Cave, Kim Gordon (Sonic Youth) and Jim Belushi. With a screenplay written with Andy Mingo, Stewart sought to preserve the fragmented, stream-of-consciousness style of the original work. In a pre-festival interview, Stewart admitted: “This was the first draft, we came here half-dressed… but I like it.” He also confessed - writes The Hollywood Reporter - that the desire to direct was born when he was just nine years old.

Kristen Stewart (AP)