Kristen Stewart during "The Chronology of Water" photocall at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2025 in Cannes, France

Directorial Debut

Kristen Stewart relished the challenge of directing 'The Chronology of Water'

First-time director Kristen Stewart says adapting Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir into a romantic drama has fulfilled a lifelong dream and pushed her creative boundaries.

MAY 16, 2025 5:42 PM EDTMAY 16, 2025, 5:42 PM EDT

Award-winning actress Kristen Stewart has stepped confidently behind the camera with her directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” a romantic-drama adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch’s acclaimed memoir. The 35-year-old actress explained that she has accomplished a lifelong ambition by doing so and that she leapt at the opportunity to adapt the story for the big screen.

Kristen Stewart at the "Bono: Stories of Surrender" Premiere at The 78th Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2025 in Cannes, France.

Kristen told 'The Hollywood Reporter': “I’ve wanted to direct movies as long as I have been an actor, and it’s been a multi-tiered development. But for some reason, psychotically, I’ve wanted to do it forever, because I do think the exchange between an actor and a director is a bridge between two very different positions.”

“You actually have to end up doing the same thing together to hold this reciprocal energy in this emotional space and make something feel congruent. So I was like, ‘Oh, I’m half of you.’ And I feel like my actors are half of me, and I just wanted to do both. I wanted to get onto the other side.”

Thora Birch, Imogen Poots, Kristen Stewart and Kim Gordon pose during "The Chronology of Water" photocall at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2025 in Cannes, France.

The ‘Twilight’ star said: “It was just a book that I read and impulsively, after 40 pages, put down and reached out to the writer.

“I thought, ‘There are certain things that I’ve read that really do live in your brain, and it would be an honor for them to live there.’ And they get to multiply within your own personal experience.

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“But this one felt like it needed to get up and share space with a lot of people. It was one of those books that I wanted to read out loud with all of my friends. It was one of those books that felt like a choir that you wanted to join.”

Kristen revealed that she has considered directing since the beginning of her acting career but has waited for a long time for the ideal project to take on.

She explained: “I think I asked a couple of actors on one of my very early projects (about) the youngest director they could stomach working with. And I was sat down by most of them and asked, ‘Why are you even asking us that question?’”

“I had to wait until right now for this to be actualised, because there are portals that set you free. Texts, songs, or conversations that give you ways into figuring out how you want to wield your voice.”

Kristen Stewart attends the "Bono: Stories Of Surrender" red carpet at the 78th annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 16, 2025 in Cannes, France.

“And even though I always knew that I was waiting for that trigger, I hadn’t found it yet until (‘The Chronology of Water’). This was eight years ago.”