The Chronology of Water

Kristen Stewart's directorial debut is a raw, honest and poetic memoir about trauma, loss, addiction and the road to healing. The film follows Lidia (Imogen Poots) through an upbringing marked by violence and pain, her years as an elite swimmer and a boundless search for love, meaning and a way to survive.

Based on author Lidia Yuknavitch's autobiographical bestseller, the film is told in fragmented, almost dream-like chapters that break with the traditional chronological narrative. Memories, body, desire and trauma flow together, while writing slowly becomes a pathway to self-insight and change.

Kristen Stewart stages the material with an intense and sensuous cinematic style, where sound, light and images bring us very close to Lidia's inner life. The water becomes both a concrete place of escape and an image of the forces that shape and envelop her life.

'The Chronology of Water' has garnered strong international reviews, including Imogen Poots' performance, which RogerEbert.com calls “astonishing”.

Regisseur: Kristen Stewart
Starring: Imogen Poots, Thora Birch, Jim Belushi
Country/year: United States, France, Latvia, 2025
Running time: 128 min.
Formato: DCP
Language: English Dialogue
Age limit: Allowed for children over 15

Part of the series: Don't Fear the Weird 2026
Cinematek is again this year at the centre of the Don't Fear the Weird festival, where films, conversations and community come together. Throughout the festival days, we invite the audience inside for a series of film experiences that explore psychological vulnerability, community, identity and being human in different ways.