Kristen Stewart Says Directorial Debut Is ‘About Incest and Periods’

Kristen Stewart has a lot to say about her feature film directorial debut, The Chronology of Water.

“My movie is about incest and periods and a woman violently repossessing her voice and body, and it is, at times, hard to watch … but it’s gonna be a fucking thrill ride,” Stewart, 34, told PORTER in an interview published on Monday, May 6. “And I think that’s commercial, but I don’t think that I have any gauge on what that means. I think people would want to see that, but then … I think maybe people wanna watch movies about, like, Jesus and dogs.”

Based on Lidia Yuknavitch‘s 2011 memoir of the same name, the story explores “issues of gender, sexuality, violence, and the family from the point of view of a lifelong swimmer turned artist,” according to a synopsis for the book.

The synopsis adds: “In writing that explores the nature of memoir itself, her story traces the effect of extreme grief on a young woman’s developing sexuality that some define as untraditional because of her attraction to both men and women. Her emergence as a writer evolves at the same time and takes the narrator on a journey of addiction, self-destruction, and ultimately survival that finally comes in the shape of love and motherhood.

Stewart told PORTER that The Chronology of Water will be filmed in Latvia. “It’s a fledgling film culture there,” she explained. “Look, I’m all about the way we make movies here [in the U.S.], but I needed a sort of radical detachment. I am not a director yet. I need to make a student film. I can’t do that here.”

As an artist, the Twilight star wants to think outside the box. “[There’s a] thinking that we can check these little boxes, and then do away with the patriarchy, and how we’re all made of it,” she said. “It’s easy for them to be like, ‘Look what we’re doing. We’re making Maggie Gyllenhaal’s movie! We’re making Margot Robbie’s movie!’ And you’re like, ‘OK, cool.’”

Although Stewart said she’s “in awe of those women,” celebrating their work in such broad, vague terms feels “phony.”

“If we’re congratulating each other for broadening perspective, when we haven’t really done enough, then we stop broadening,” she added. “As an actor, I’m called upon to serve other people’s visions. You get greedy; it feels good to be called upon … even if you don’t love the thing. I think it’s nice that, as I’ve gotten older, I would much prefer to tailor my experiences to result-oriented goals, versus, just, ‘This is gonna feel good for me right now.’”

Stewart first announced her directorial debut would be The Chronology of Water at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. After years of struggling to get it made, Stewart told Variety in January that she would no longer act until she secures financing.

“I’m going to make this movie before I ever work for someone else,” she told the outlet at the time. “Yeah, I will quit the f—ing business. I won’t make a-fu—ing-nother movie until I make this movie. I will tell you that, for sure. I think that will get things going.”