Kristen Stewart‘s directorial debut is getting an awards-qualifying run. Stewart first became a global star when she took on the role of Bella Swan in the Twilight film franchise, though she had already played a number of other roles in notable movies such as Panic Room, Catch That Kid, and Into the Wild.

In her post-Twilight years, a number of Kristen Stewart movies have achieved major critical success, including Love Lies Bleeding, Certain Women, Clouds of Sils Maria, Still Alice, and Personal Shopper. Additionally, she was nominated for an Oscar for Best Actress for playing Princess Diana in the 2021 biopic Spencer.

The Chronology Of Water Now Has An Official Release Date

The Chronology of Water has been acquired for distribution in North America. The biographical movie, which is Kristen Stewart’s first directorial feature after helming music videos for groups including Boygenius and Chvurches, is based on a memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, who grew up in an abusive environment and was able to get out thanks to a swimming scholarship.

The movie stars 28 Weeks Later‘s Imogen Poots in the lead role, alongside an ensemble cast that includes Thora Birch, Tom Sturridge, Kim Gordon, and Jim Belushi as One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest author Ken Kesey.

Early reviews for the movie that came out of its premiere at Cannes have been glowing, earning it a near-perfect 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes. One of the reviews that was aggregated came from ScreenRant‘s own Patrice Witherspoon, who gave the movie a score of 9 out of 10. Read an excerpt from her The Chronology of Water review below:

Stewart directs the hell out of Imogen Poots as Lidia, who detaches from the painful experience of being Sєxually abused by her father (Michael Epp). Told in five chapters — holding breath, under blue, the wet, resuscitations, and the other side of drowning — this film isn’t just bold storytelling, it’s a phenomenon that drenches you with intensity. From the opening sequence, the whole point is to create thunderous encounters with your senses to bring you into Lidia’s mental state. At any given moment, you’re bound, by design, to feel its radical power.

Per ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, The Chronology of Water has now been picked up for domestic distribution by The Forge. While the exact dates are still unknown, the Kristen Stewart movie will debut in domestic theaters in December, with an expanded release set for January 2026.

This is a common release pattern for movies with awards potential, as it allows them to have an Oscars-qualifying run at the end of the year, but places their expanded release during a time early the following year. This allows them space to find a wider audience during a quieter time in theaters with less compeтιтion from major holiday releases.

Below, read comments on the acquisition by Stewart, The Forge CEO Mark Mathias Sayre, and The Forge head of acquisitions Decker Sadowski:

Kristen Stewart: 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. 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.

Mark Mathias Sayre: 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. 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.

Decker Sadowski: It’s a privilege to bring such a visionary directorial debut to North American audiences. The Chronology of Water is a film that leaves you changed: more powerful, more awake, and more free.

What This Means For The Chronology Of Water

The two most likely Oscar nominations that The Chronology of Water could earn are Best Actress (for Imogen Poots) and Best Director. However, both categories are compeтιтive, as Variety predicts that the Director contenders will be Noah Baumbach for Jay Kelly, Ryan Coogler for Sinners, Guillermo del Toro for Frankenstein, Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value, and Chloé Zhao for Hamnet.

They also currently predict that the Actress contenders are Jessie Buckley for Hamnet, Rose Byrne for If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, Cynthia Erivo for Wicked: For Good, Renate Reinsve for Sentimental Value, and Julia Roberts for After the Hunt. However, these are early predictions and they may not come to pᴀss.

This could especially be the case if Erivo is shut out because she was nominated for the same role in the first Wicked in 2024. Additionally, Guillermo del Toro may not be nominated for Best Director because the Academy has made a habit of snubbing horror movies.

This allows The Chronology of Water a chance to slip into both categories under the wire, especially if this new release date indeed gives the Kristen Stewart movie room to grow once it has more space between itself and major December tentpole releases such as the upcoming Avatar: Fire and Ash, Five Nights at Freddy’s 2, and Anaconda.