Kristen Stewart and Kim Gordon in Conversation at BTTL Event, Cannes 2025
May 19, 2025
One sunny Friday afternoon on the Croisette, BTTL brought together two singular voices for an electrifying fireside chat: actress-director Kristen Stewart and music icon-actor Kim Gordon, in a conversation moderated by Variety’s Angelique Jackson. The event, held at Hyde Beach by Campari, drew a standing-room-only crowd eager to hear Stewart speak candidly about her highly anticipated directorial debut The Chronology of Water, with Gordon offering reflections both as an actor and as a collaborator in the film.
Stewart described the project, adapted from Lidia Yuknavitch’s memoir, as an “externalized internal experience,” emphasizing her choice to shoot on 16mm and layer the visuals with a fragmented, dreamlike quality to mirror memory and trauma. She acknowledged that the journey had been years in the making, quipping that she began talking about directing in 2018 “probably before I should have been,” but that the urgency and rawness of the material ultimately demanded her voice.
Gordon, who plays a counselor in the film, recounted her reaction to seeing the finished work, saying she “couldn’t breathe for the first 45 minutes” because of its intensity: the sound, editing, and emotional atmosphere. Stewart highlighted Gordon’s presence as pivotal, explaining that a simple line delivered by Gordon’s character — “I’m proud of you” — lands with a weight that is transformative for the protagonist and symbolic for anyone who rarely hears such words.
Throughout the discussion, Jackson guided the exchange toward themes of collaboration, trust, and authorship. Stewart described how she reached out personally to artists she admired across disciplines, writing letters that invited them to co-create: “You grow toward each other … they listened when it was really hard to get people to listen.” Gordon responded by reflecting on the risks of letting go of control and how creative tension often sparks innovation.
The conversation also touched on broader industry dynamics, with Stewart openly challenging the idea that filmmakers must log years of technical training to earn a seat in the director’s chair. She dismissed that notion as “a real male perspective” and a form of gatekeeping, adding, “Anyone can make a movie if they have something to say.”
The result was a dialogue that resonated deeply with the audience: two artists from different worlds finding common ground in their commitment to risk, honesty, and expression. With Jackson steering the conversation, the exchange became not only a celebration of Stewart’s film and Gordon’s artistry but also a call for more fearless voices in cinema.
Watch the full discussion here: Kristen Stewart & Kim Gordon at Cannes 2025
Photography by Jolly D Thompson below:
