This year’s Cannes — specifically the Un Certain Regard sidebar — was home to directorial debuts from three major actors, including Scarlett Johansson’s “Eleanor the Great,” Harris Dickinson’s “Urchin,” and Kristen Stewart‘s “The Chronology of Water.” And though Stewart has been a Cannes mainstay for nearly a decade, the film was well-reviewed, and Stewart’s star power is as strong as ever, even movies with that pedigree manage to sit on the shelf. We’ve asked distributors time and again to look alive.
Today, someone did, and Stewart’s “The Chronology of Water” has been acquired for North American distribution by The Forge, an upstart distributor that last year handled the release of Mexico’s Oscar submission “Sujo,” as well as films like “Black Dog” and “The Balconettes.” Stewart’s film is by far the distributor’s highest profile release (terms of the deal were not disclosed), and it’s planning to give the film a robust awards campaign with a release in theaters this December. It will open limited for a qualifying run and expand in January.
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“The Chronology of Water” is Stewart’s adaptation of a memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, a competitive swimmer who dealt with an abusive childhood, sexual experimentation, toxic relationships, and addiction, all before finding her voice as a creative writer. Anchored by a powerfully honest performance by Imogen Poots, the film is framed much like a visual poem, absent identifying time stamps or title cards and told in “a constellation of scattered quotes and half-invented memories,” as IndieWire’s critic David Ehrlich described it out of Cannes. He praised the film and particularly Stewart’s direction for being innately comfortable and gifted behind the camera, writing that “some movies are shot. This one was directed.”
“There isn’t a single millisecond of this movie that doesn’t bristle with the raw energy of an artist who’s found the permission she needed to put her whole being into every frame, messy and shattered as that might be,” the review reads. “And it’s largely for that reason why ‘The Chronology of Water’ works even when it doesn’t: Because, on an almost subatomic level, Stewart communes with the liquid spirit of a woman who only became whole by allowing herself to dissolve into the smallest essences of her being — over and over again until it seemed impossible she might ever regain a recognizable shape.”
Stewart had been developing “The Chronology of Water” for eight years before it finally found funding from Ridley Scott’s Scott Free production banner, and Stewart announced she would be directing it way back in 2022 before it finally was ready for Cannes this summer. At the time she called it “fiercely, ragingly female,” and at Cannes this year, the process didn’t deter her from going back to the well again, saying that not only will she direct again, she’s got several projects in the works.
“Oh, man, it felt so good. I’m dying,” Stewart told Anne Thompson. “It’s going to be a lot easier this time. I’ve always said that as long as I can make another movie after my first one, that I don’t need to be precious or clever about it at all. It just needs to feel pure. I’ve earned the right to try one more time. I never want to make the same movie twice. So whatever comes out next is going to not be anything like this. I can’t fucking wait.”
Alongside Poots in the film are Jim Belushi, Thora Birch, Charlie Carrick, Susannah Flood, Kim Gordon, and Tom Sturridge. Producers on “The Chronology of Water” include Charles Gillibert (CG Cinema International); Yulia Zayceva, Max Poklov, and Svetlana Punte (Forma Pro Films); Michael Pruss, and Rebecca Feuer (Scott Free); Stewart, Maggie McLean, and Dylan Meyer (Nevermind Pictures); and Andy Mingo in association with Scott Aharoni, Alihan Yalcindag, and Sinan Eczacibasi for Curious Gremlin; Christian Vesper for Fremantle; Yan Vizinberg, Abigail Honor and Chris Cooper for Lorem Ipsum Entertainment; Mélanie Biessy for Scala Films.
“Kristen [Stewart] hasn’t just directed a film, she’s carved out a world with unmistakable vision: one that pulses with pain, desire, and defiance,” said Mark Mathias Sayre, CEO of The Forge, in an official statement. “’The Chronology of Water’ is unlike anything we’ve ever released: visceral, expansive, and anchored by a performance from Imogen Poots that wrecks and rebuilds you. The film is a major achievement on every level, and we’re honored to bring it to North American audiences.”
“After eight long years of gestation, I am overwhelmed by the privilege of having ‘The Chronology of Water’ be released in theaters with the full support and ambition of like-minded artists like the partners we’ve found at The Forge,” Stewart added in her own statement. “Films like ours should be birthed onto the screen and I am grateful we found a team as committed to supporting independent filmmakers as they are.”
The North American deal was brokered by Mark Mathias Sayre (CEO), Steven Michael Swadling (Partner), and Decker Sadowski (Head of Acquisitions) on behalf of The Forge, and WME Independent on behalf of the filmmakers. Les Films du Losange is handling international sales and French distribution.
