The hope paid off. “The Chronology of Water” isn’t some pretty good, prosaic, actor-directs-actors-how-to-read-the-script thing. It’s far more artful and captivating than that.

The Chronology of Water is a similar beast, as a movie zeroed in on the fragile dynamic between trauma and creation, to the point that anguish seems to reside within its every aesthetic decision.

‘The Chronology of Water’ Review: Kristen Stewart Makes a Boldly Assured Directing Debut, Starring a Transformative Imogen Poots. Adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir about surviving ...

This sentence comes at the end of the second paragraph of The Chronology of Water, Lidia Yuknavitch’s extraordinary, extraordinarily raw 2011 memoir about growing up, nearly giving up, and ...

Kristen Stewart’s feature directorial debut The Chronology Of Water was greeted by a 6 1/2-minute ovation by an enthusiastic audience in Cannes.

Her directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” has earned good notices, but after fighting to get it made, the filmmaker wouldn’t mind a battle with reviewers.

Kristen Stewart’s directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” is an awards-worthy audacious, poetic memoir adaptation with standout turns from Jim Belushi and Thora Birch.

“The Chronology of Water” premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution. Want to stay up to date on IndieWire’s film reviews and critical thoughts?

With The Chronology of Water, director Kristen Stewart infuses what could be a conventionally sequential biopic into splinters, shards and ripples.

Premiering Friday at the Cannes Film Festival, “The Chronology of Water” stars a never-better Imogen Poots as Lidia, a woman who turns to swimming and later writing as salvation from a ...