There’s a particular post-release high that hits when a filmmaker stops hauling a movie up the hill and starts watching it roll into the world. And in a new IndieWire podcast interview tied to her feature directorial debut, “The Chronology of Water,” actress-turned-filmmaker Kristen Stewart sounded grateful for the moment — and visibly impatient for the next cinematic boulder to shove uphill.
The question was basically the unavoidable one: after you’ve gone through the whole act of making a film and then putting it out into the world, do you want to rush into another one? The answer was unequivocal.
“Yes, absolutely. I’m dying [to],” she said. “In fact, it’s such a blessing to be able to watch this movie have a relationship with the world and with individuals and see that evolve and whatever. But I’ve been doing this for a bit. I’m so ready for the next one.”
When the conversation shifted toward acting — and whether directing made her want to stay behind the camera — Stewart made space for both, explaining that each has its advantages and disadvantages.
“It’s tricky,” she explained. “I love acting so much when it’s pure and when it’s really great. And also when it’s not, I love being an actor. But it’s so much responsibility, and it’s so scary. I have a different feeling when I’m grabbing something and lighting fires and, you know, laying out the bases and hitting the shit out of them. It just feels like kind of where I want to be right now — and that I’ve been kind of raring to go my entire life to do that.”
She also connected the two crafts in a way that allows you to feel a filmmaker’s presence within a performance, even if they’re not on screen.
“And having said that, there’s also such a distinct relationship between acting and directing for me,” she continued. “I think that my favorite movies, I can see the director in the scene. I mean, they’re scene partners.”
Then Stewart landed on the part that sounded like a confession she hadn’t fully reckoned with yet — the desire to protect time for the following three film projects she wants to direct, without actively naming them, and the temptation to rip herself loose from the scheduling gravity of acting.
“So I don’t know, I would love to direct something that I was in. I would love to keep… yeah, it’s…” she explained with an abrupt pivot into a more pronounced proclamation. “I think I’m gonna drop out of everything I’ve ever attached myself to and just try and focus on the next three things that I want to make, because it’s like holding these balloons full of really aggressive helium. And I’m like, I don’t want to hold on to these anymore. I want to see where they float off to. And acting is very time-consuming, and I’m so lucky to be somebody that still gets hired to do that, but I really want to start doing the hiring.”
Admittedly, the “drop out of everything” line feels fleeting and of the moment — the kind of thing you say when the adrenaline is still in your bloodstream — and it’s probably unlikely she literally drops out of every project she’s currently attached to. But the enthusiasm wasn’t performative. The intent landed clean: she wants to direct again badly, and she wants to do it soon. Listen to the whole podcast conversation below and go see “The Chronology of Water” in theaters now.
