Kristen Stewart Drops 'One Hell of a Directorial Debut'

Standing ovations aren't unusual at the Cannes Film Festival, but the six-minute-long one that greeted Kristen Stewart's directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, in the early hours of Saturday "didn't feel like a normal standing ovation," writes Jada Yuan at the Washington Post. "It felt like witnessing the christening of a new chapter in the life of someone we'd watched grow up." More:

• The movie: Starring Imogen Poots, it's an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's 2011 memoir about how swimming helped her overcome childhood sexual abuse. Shot in 16mm, it premiered as part of the festival's Un Certain Regard competition for first- and second-time filmmakers, Yuan explains.

• The director: Stewart—who rose to fame rose with the Twilight series before receiving an Oscar nomination for her role in 2021's Spencer—stood awkwardly, delivered a lot of hugs, then "danced around" as the standing ovation dragged on, per the Post. The next day, she told the New York Times, "I've never been happier in my entire life."
• The struggle: The film took eight years of fighting to make. "I threw public temper tantrums about not being able to make the movie," Stewart told the Times. "I just thought it was potentially dying every day," she continued. "It was like a shipwreck, we had to put that boat back together. It was shocking."

• The reviews: Critics say the film was well worth the wait. It's "one hell of a directorial debut," writes David Fear in Rolling Stone. Every moment bristles "with the raw energy of an artist who's found the permission she needed to put her whole being into every frame," writes IndieWire's David Ehrlich. "It cuts deep even while washing over you with soothing images of water," writes David Rooney at the Hollywood Reporter.
• Stewart's reaction: Debuting the film felt like baring her chest and "everyone's been so nice!" she told the Times. "I'm like, 'Can you just come for me a little bit?'" She added she's wanted "to open the floodgates of what I've been working on" for so long. And "I'm so proud of it," she told Reuters. "It's like watching your kid go to school."

(More Kristen Stewart stories.)