Actor Kristen Stewart Will Direct an Adaptation of Portland Author Lidia Yuknavitch’s “Chronology of Water”

The film adaptation of the memoir—which covers Yuknavitch’s addiction, her bisexuality and swimming with Ken Kesey—will be Stewart’s directorial debut.

Kristen Stewart in 2010. IMAGE: Sgt. Michael Connors.
By Elise Herron

Actor Kristen Stewart will make her directorial debut with an adaptation of Portland author and Oregon Book Award-winner Lidia Yuknavitch's memoir, Chronology of Water.

She announced her plans for the film at the Cannes Film Festival today.

"I'm making the movie this summer," she said, "but other than that, my only goal is just to finish the screenplay and hire a really spectacular actor."

Yuknavitch's memoir is a deeply intense and personal exploration of addiction, early sexual abuse, bisexuality and S&M. Andy Mingo, a local producer and Yuknavitch's spouse, first announced plans to adapt the book into a film in 2016.

Related: Portland Author Lidia Yuknavitch's "Chronology of Water" Will Be Adapted Into Film.

At the time, Mingo was also casting parts for the film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's Lullaby, which he co-wrote and produced. He said he and Yuknavitch were choosy about who they'd pick to direct the project.

"The Chronology of Water made so much sense [for film]," Mingo told WW in 2016, "because it's a cult icon and people really love the story." It's the type of tale, he added, "that may need a female director to bring in that perspective [it] needs."

Cue Stewart. The 28-year-old actor is widely known for her role in the Twilight series, but has since taken on notably more poignant and rebellious parts, including her gender-blurring role in Personal Shopper.

Stewart's goal, she said at Cannes, is to work on films that "bring us together, bridge gaps [and] make us feel less alone"—tasks she believes Yuknavitch's memoir achieves.

"It's deeply personal to her," Stewart said of Chronology of Water. "[Yuknavitch] is in my blood and I knew that before I met her."

"I'm going to write a role that I want so badly but that I'm not going to play," Steward adds. "I'm going to write the best fucking female role."

See Related: Portland Author Lidia Yuknavitch Wrote a Manifesto for the Misfits of the World.

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