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Kristen Stewart Breaks Down Filmmaking Myths Amid Directorial Debut With The Chronology of Water: 'Real Male Perspective'
Kristen Stewart debunks filmmaking myths during her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir.
Kristen Stewart criticized the long-standing assumption that making movies necessitates years of technical experience. While gearing up for her own directorial debut at the Cannes Film Festival 2025, Stewart labeled it as archaic and discriminatory.
The actress-turned-director is now in attendance at the Cannes Film Festival for the debut of her directorial effort, The Chronology of Water, which plays in the Un Certain Regard section. In a fireside chat conducted by nonprofit Breaking Through the Lens, Stewart confronted systemic hurdles that still deter new voices, most of all women, from sitting in the director's seat.
According to Variety, Stewart contended that the prerequisite for technical skill prior to getting to direct is a gatekeeping strategy based on patriarchal male ideas. She pointed out that anyone with something worth saying can create a film and denounced the principle that formal schooling or decades of experience are needed.
"There’s this bullshit fallacy that you need to have experience or sort of like technical adeptness, and it’s safeguarding the business. It’s a real male perspective. Like, as if it’s this difficult thing to do. Anyone can make a movie if they have something to say," Stewart said.
She also spoke of her own experience of trying to get The Chronology of Water funded. The Twilight actress agreed that the actual difficulty is not technical ability, but time and dedication, particularly in knowing how to find the funds. Finding no support in America, she shot the project outside of America in Latvia and Malta.
"But there’s no amount of learning or skill, like that’s just crap. If you can just feel allowed to communicate and therefore get in touch with something that wants to come out, a film will come out of you. It shouldn’t have taken so long … And I can’t wait for the next one," she added.
The movie is an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir and features Imogen Poots in a four-decade-spanning role. Stewart said that while she does intend to perform in her next directorial features, she thought that Poots was best suited to the lead, noting an intrinsic, intangible quality she possessed in the role.
Stewart spoke of behind-the-scenes stories, such as how she felt anxious penning letters to Fiona Apple to gain rights for two songs featured in the film. She got a personal response from the singer herself, which she called a highlight. She also gave credit to directors Sofia Coppola and Rose Glass for giving her early script feedback, which she co-authored in eight years.
Kristen Stewart urged young women directors to ask all industry norms the hard questions and to be suspicious of random rules and hasty deadlines.
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