'I want to make tiny little movies that don't seem tiny,' says Kristen Stewart

"I want to make tiny little movies that then don't seem tiny."

"There's abuse involved and there's a sort of atmosphere of 'no' in her household."

"So she defines very early on in the movie what it feels like to have no voice."

"The whole movie is about processing and metabolizing and then regurgitating something that is beautiful, reflects your insides."

Kristen Stewart makes an arthouse debut as writer and director with Chronology of Water, an adaptation of Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir. The film portrays a childhood marked by a beastly, abusive father and an atmosphere of 'no' that silences the main character. The narrative is fragmented, slipping back and forth in time to mirror how memories surface. Water functions as both escape and motif through competitive swimming. Imogen Poots portrays the protagonist with long silences and near-whispers, including a refusal to tell her story to a social worker. The film focuses on processing and metabolizing trauma until it is regurgitated into something beautiful and exuberant. Stewart chose a serious subject for her debut instead of lighter fare.

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