Kristen Stewart makes her directorial debut with The Chronology of Water, the romantic drama film based on Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir of the same name.
Imogen Poot stars as Lidia, who uses competitive swimming as an escape from an abusive family. As her journey continues, she discovers that writing has healing powers.
Also starring in the movie are Jim Belushi, Thora Birch, Charlie Carrick, Susannah Flood, Kim Gordon, and Tom Sturridge.
Known best for her role in ‘Twilight’, Stewart has also previously directed the short film ‘Come Swim’ and music videos for groups such as Chvrches and Boygenius.
The Chronology of Water premiered at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, and will open in select theaters on December 5th, 2025, before its nationwide debut on January 9th, 2026.
The film traces Lidia’s life from her earliest memories in the Pacific Northwest, as a promising swimmer, through fractured relationships, near-motherhood, addiction, and encounters with artistic heroes. Told as a fluid memory wash, the story transforms trauma into art, embodying Yuknavitch’s defiant voice that made her work a modern cult classic. It is not only a chronicle of a woman becoming a writer, but a visceral journey through the wreckage and resilience of a life lived against the grain.
“The reason that I wanted to make this was to screw with form, because it’s not about what happened to Lidia Yuknavitch, it’s what happens to us all and how we can internalize that violence,’ Stewart told Deadline. “I know it sounds dramatic, but it’s true. It’s incredibly violent to be a woman.”
Watch the official trailer for The Chronology of Water, above.
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