On Wednesday, January 14th, the Coolidge Corner Theatre hosted filmmaker Kristen Stewart and production designer Jen Dunlap for a candid Q&A following an advanced screening of The Chronology of Water. Based on the beloved memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, Stewart’s directorial debut and screenplay masterfully translate the visceral elements of The Chronology of Water to the big screen. The film was shot on 16mm, adding a raw, intimate lens to the unflinching portrait of survival, sexuality, and self-invention.

Stewart let out a sigh of relief when she sat down, sharing that having Dunlap as her moderator would help the Q&A go deeper. At its core, their integrity and vision paved the way for making the impossible possible, even when there were roadblocks every day. “I was not allowed to make this movie,” Stewart remarked, “We have an idea bitch!”

“This woman is a visionary...you led us with your bleeding heart and other orifices into war. And there’s no one I’d rather follow.” - Jen Dunlap

Stewart revealed that the “script was hard to fund” and joked it was because “these people suck at reading, I think nobody reads anymore.” Especially with the film’s tempo of cuts and flashes that cannot be written into the script. It takes a special kind of talent to understand what the moments between the words would become.

Once they were able to get the ball rolling, they found “the connectivity between certain images [and how] there are things you plan and things that happen.” The whole process was about “discovery.” Their trust in the process enabled them to bring patterns together and run to the “sheer cliff of desire” that informed the film. These cuts and “flashes” came together as they worked, with Stewart crediting a beat where a rock fell to an on-set idea by Jim Belushi.

Toward the end of the session, they dove into the importance of sound. Stewart noted how audiences should be able to “close your eyes and watch the movie...if we didn’t achieve that, we f*cked up.” They placed great importance on the soundscape, revealing that they cut down on narration to allow “the net of sonic ambiguity to hold your hand” and ensure that audiences sit with the harrowing scenes.

One such moment was when teeth ripped lace. Dunlap recalled visiting vintage Latvian stores in search of the perfect fabric, which she then painstakingly wove throughout the entire movie. Their meticulous attention to detail made the film feel like lace: impossibly intricate and full of care.

Stewart views this film as her baby, making it fitting that it took her 9 months and multiple different editors to create the final cut. She disclosed that the first cut was 4 hours long, prompting a fan to ask about a “director’s cut.” Stewart laughed and passionately said, “No way. This is my director’s cut.” A statement that rings true in every frame. Dunlap remarked how Stewart “disappeared” during the editing process to find that singular rhythm the film carries until the final second.

See for yourself at screenings of The Chronology of Water at The Coolidge Corner Theatre now. Buy tickets here.