Kristen's interview for 'The Chronology of Water' with Telerama (France)

 

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She can't remember. We do. First met at the height of the Twilight phenomenon , Kristen Stewart spoke through gritted teeth, her eyes filled with panic, a tortured kitten shriveled in the corner of a sofa, while fans, massed outside her Parisian hotel, screamed her name and that of Robert Pattinson in the vain hope of attracting the royal couple to the balcony. That was fifteen years ago. Or, perhaps, in another life, judging by the actress's spectacular metamorphosis in interviews, who now probes you with her blue marbles, straight into your soul, to ensure that the current and the ideas are flowing. The 35-year-old first-time director has made, with The Chronology of Water (in theaters from October 15), a tormented and poetic film, based on the autobiographical story by Lidia Yuknavitch. Incest, violence, drugs, and rescue through writing, above all, narrated through memory, in disorder therefore, a story of water carried at arm's length by a young woman on fire. Presented at Cannes in the Un Certain Regard selection, awarded a Revelation Award at the Deauville Festival, the feature film, penniless, personal, is the fruit of his obstinacy and a desire to send the executives flying, both patriarchal and Hollywood.

Get out of the cannons

“  The Mechanics of Fluids , Lidia Yuknavitch’s autobiography (published by Denoël), had moved me with its visceral, radical nature. Its non-linearity seemed to me both more interesting than a classic unfolding but also more logical: memory proceeds in this way, in fragments, in retinal flashes, it imposes itself on you. Transposing the book to the screen required breaking with the prevailing canons and retracing her life in the form of a puzzle, a patchwork. It is not only about a traumatic experience, about a woman who survives incest or escapes an overdose, it is the story of a woman who reclaims her voice and her body. It speaks of art, of writing, and of rewriting the narratives that are imposed on us and that lock us into little boxes.”

My film, my battle

“I worked on the script for six years, and it took me two more to get this project off the ground. I was constantly advised to make it more “digestible,” or even to start with an easier subject… I wanted The Chronology of Water to give the impression of being on psychotropic drugs, and the result is very faithful to what I wrote. In the end, it was a very small film, shot in Latvia because it couldn’t be done in the United States. The only person I called during filming was Pablo Larraín, on the eve of a drastic change I was hesitant about, and he replied: “Kristen, if your imagination isn’t on fire, it’s dead!” In short, I made the change! A film must be protected with the strength of a mother capable of lifting a bus—and I can tell you, this one wiped me out.”

From one actress to another

"I'm not saying my film is brilliant, but its actress, Imogen Poots, is! She was ready to bare all. To give it her all. Imogen is honest, cultured, credible as an 18-year-old student as well as a 40-year-old writer; she reveals a rare strength. I don't like the method of telling actors what to feel or think; I hate manipulation, secrets, and demiurges. I like us to be on the same team, driven by passion. I specifically wanted to become a director to make actors evolve in my images so that they break them, transform them, and give me something else. I certainly didn't want to control everything, and I wanted to push someone to surpass themselves, because I think I have a rather contagious flame."

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