Reporting from Park City, Utah — Kristen Stewart knows the kind of thoughts people are going to have about her directorial debut. And she’s not especially concerned with them.
“I wasn’t fearful in confronting what this was about,” the star said of her new work, a short film titled “Come Swim.” “I mean, I put a relationship right in the middle of it.”
Stewart’s fame these days comes primarily from two areas: her relationships, which draw the interest of tens of millions of people, and her studiously independent film work, which garners the ticket sales of, well, somewhat fewer.
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Those two strands converge in “Come Swim,” a piece that pushes the 26-year-old in ever-new artistic directions while also offering some of the clearest tea leaves yet about her closely guarded personal life.
The actress, who has determinedly done it her way since wrapping “The Twilight Saga” five (!) years ago, is continuing her Sinatran act with her eighth Sundance Film Festival appearance. Or is it her ninth? She can’t remember.
Either way, this go-round is different. The former teen queen has for the first time come to the festival as a writer-director, for her new movie that was backed by, and will appear shortly on, the women-oriented website Refinery 29.
As she sat in a storefront media lounge here on a snowy Friday afternoon, wearing a leather jacket, burgundy Adidas sneakers and a generous amount of makeup, Stewart described the animating principal of the 17-minute film.
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John Lithgow and Salma Hayek from the film “Beatriz at Dinner.”
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Director and actress Michelle Morgan from the film “L.A. Times.”
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Director Dan Sickles, left, director Antonio Santini and director of photography Adam Uhl from the film “Dina.”
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Director of photography Adam Uhl from the film “Dina.”
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Director Danny Strong, left, actor Nicholas Hoult and actress Zoey Deutch from the film “Rebel in the Rye.”
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Actress Lois Smith from the film “Marjorie Prime.”
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Actor Jon Hamm from the film “Marjorie Prime.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Mark Hamill from the film “Brigsby Bear.”
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Actor Nick Offerman from the film “The Hero.”
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Director Jovanka Vuckovic from the film, “XX.”
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Actress India Menuez from the Amazon series “I Love Dick.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Laura Prepon from the film “The Hero.”
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Actor Sam Elliott from the film “The Hero.”
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Director Annie Clark (also known as the musician, St. Vincent) from the film “XX.”
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Director Joshua Z. Weinstein, left, and Menashe Lustig from “Menashe” at the Sundance Film Festial in Park City, Utah, on Jan. 23.
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Actress Zoe Chao, left, co-director Celia Rowlson-Hall, co-director Mia Lidofsky and actress Meredith Hagne from the television movie “Strangers.”
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Actor Martin Donovan, left, actress Julia Ordmond, director Mark Palansky and actor Peter Dinklage from the film “Rememory.”
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Actress Madeline Weinstein from the film “Beach Rats.”
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Ryan Horrigan, left, Paul Raphael, Felix Jajeunesse and Sebastian Sylvan from the film “Miyubi.”
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Actor Harris Dickinson from the film “Beach Rats.”
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Director Eliza Hittman from “Beach Rats.”
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Actresses Nefessa Williams, left, Adriyan Rae, Steve Harris, Seryah and Imani Hakim from the film “Burning Sands.”
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Actor Jon Daly, left, director Janicza Bravo, actress Judy Greer, actress Shiri Appelby and actor Brett Gelman of “Lemon.”
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Director Julia Ducournau from the film “Raw.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Anya Taylor-Joy, director Cory Finley and actress Olivia Cooke from the film “Thoroughbred.”
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Director Matt Heineman, second from right, and citizen journalists Mohamad Almusari, left, Hamoud Almousa and Abdalaziz from the documentary film “City of Ghosts.”
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Subjects Raj Majethia and Victoria Harrelson from the documentary film “The Mars Generation.”
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Subject Raj Majethia, left, director Michael Barnett and subject Victoria Harrelson from the documentary film “The Mars Generation.”
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Actor Adam Horowitz, left, actress Emily Browning, director Alex Ross Perry and actress Analeigh Tipton from the film “Golden Exits.”
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Director Wally Wolodarsky, left, actor Jack Black, actress Jenny Slate, director Maya Forbes, actress Jacki Weaver and actor Willie Garson from the film “The Polka King.”
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Director Rory Kennedy and surfer Laird Hamilton, from the documentary film “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton.”
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Actress Julia Jones from the film “Wind River.”
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Actress Kelsy Asbille from the film “Wind River.”
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Director Kogonada from the film “Columbus.”
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Actor Rory Culkin, left, actor John Cho, actress Michelle Forbes, actress Haley Lu Richardson and actor Parker Posey from the film, “Columbus.”
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Director Taylor Sheridan from the film “Wind River.”
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Actress Gigi Gorgeous and director Barbara Kopple from the film “This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous.”
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Actress Gigi Gorgeous, from “This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous.”
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Executive Producer Danny Glover, left, and director Yance Ford from the documentary film “Strong Island.”
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Actor Sam Elliott, left, actor Nick Offerman, director Brett Haley, actress Katharine Ross and actress Laura Prepon from the film “The Hero.”
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Co-Executive Producer Sarah Gubbins, left, actor Griffin Dunne, actress India Menuez (kneeling), actress Roberta Colindrez, actor Kevin Bacon, director Jill Soloway, actress Kathryn Hahn and Lily Mojekwu from the Amazon series “I Love Dick.”
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Actress Kathryn Hahn, actress Roberta Colindrez and director Jill Soloway from the Amazon series “I Love Dick.”
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Actor Jason Isaacs and Crash from the film “Red Dog: True Blue.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Sasheer Zamata, director Sydney Freeland, actress Danielle Nicolet, actor David Sullivan, actress Rachel Crow and actress Ashleigh Murray, from the film “Diedra and Laney Rob a Train.”
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Actor Daniel Houck and director Stefan Avalos from the documentary film “Strad Style.”
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Actor Jeremy Renner from the film “Wind River,.”
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Director/actor Zoe Lister-Jones from the film “Band Aid.”
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Actress Chloe Sevigny from the film “Golden Exits.”
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Actor Jack Black from the film “The Polka King.”
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Surfer Laird Hamilton, subject of the documentary film “Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Julia Jones from the film “Wind River.”
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Actress Kelsy Asbille from the film “Wind River.”
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Actress America Ferrera from the new Web series “Gente-fied.”
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Director Miguel Arteta from the film “Beatriz at Dinner.”
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Actress Connie Britton from the film “Beatriz at Dinner.”
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Actress Salma Hayek from the film “Beatriz at Dinner.”
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Actor Jay Duplass jumps behind writer-director Gillian Robespierre, actress Jenny Slate, actress Edie Falco and actress Abby Quinn from the film “Landline.”
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Actor Blake Jenner, actor Logan Lerman, actress Elle Fanning and actress Michelle Monaghan from the film “Sidney Hall.”
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Actress Natalie Paul, left, actor Lakeith Stanfield, screenwriter Matt Ruskin and actor-producer Nnamdi Asomugha, from the film “Crown Heights.”
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Actress Judy Greer, left, actor Woody Harrelson and actress Laura Dein, from the film “Wilson.”
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Actress Isabella Amara, from the film “Wilson.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Josh O’Connor, left, director Francis Lee and actor Alec Secareanu, from the film “God’s Own Country.”
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Jaque Fragua, director Michelle Latimer, center, and Sarain Carson-Fox, from the documentary film “Rise.”
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Director Amir Bar-Lev, left, Steve Parrish and Trixie Garcia, from the documentary film “Long Strange Trip.”
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Actress Connie Britton, from the film “Beatriz at Dinner.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor-producer Nnamdi Asomugha, from the film “Crown Heights.”
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Director Andrew Dosunmu from the film “Where Is Kyra.”
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Actor John Lithgow, from the film “Beatriz at Dinner.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Director Shawn Christensen from the film “Sidney Hall.”
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Actor Garrett Hedlund, director Dee Rees, actor Rob Morgan, musician Mary J. Blige, and actress Cary Mulligan from the film “Mudbound.”
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Geremy Jasper, director and writer of the film “Patti Cake$.”
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Actress Danielle Macdonald from the film “Patti Cake$.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Laia Costa from the film “Newness.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Mamoudou Athie from the film “Patti Cake$.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Nicholas Hoult from the film “Newness.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Siddharth Dhananjay from the film “Patti Cake$.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Mamoudou Athie, left, actress Cathy Moriarty, actor Siddharth Dhananjay, director-writer Geremy Jasper, actress Bridget Everett and actress Danielle Macdonald from the film “Patti Cake$.”
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Director Evgeny Afineevsky and subject Kholoud Helmi from the HBO documentary film “Cries From Syria.”
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Subject Marli Renfro and director Alexandre O. Philippe from the documentary film “78/52.”
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Actress Cathy Moriarty from the film “Patti Cake$.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Bridget Everett from the film “Patti Cake$.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actor Nicholas Hoult and director Drake Doremus from the film “Newness.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Ben York Jones, screenwriter of the film “Newness.”
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Actress Aisha Tyler, who participated in the Women’s March through Park City.
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Rashida Jones, Jill Bauer, and Ronna Gradus of the film, “Hot Girls Wanted: Turned On.”
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Co-writer Justin Lader, Director Charlie McDowell, and Alex Orlovsky of the film, “The Discovery.”
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Actor David So of the film, “Gook.”
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Actress Hania Amar of the film “The Nile Hilton Incident.”
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Actor Fares Fares of the film “The Nile Hilton Incident.”
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Director Tarik Saleh of the film, “The Nile Hilton Incident.”
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Director Dee Rees of the film “Mudbound.”
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Director Jim Strouse of the film “The Incredible Jessica James.”
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Actor Tye Sheridan of the film, “Yellow Birds.”
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Actress Pom Klementieff of the film, “Ingrid Goes West” and “Newness.”
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Actor Jack Huston of the film, “Yellow Birds.”
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Director Matt Spicer of the film “Ingrid Goes West.”
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Directors Cary Murnion and Jonathan Milott of the film, “Bushwick.”
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Actress Jasna Fritzi Bauer and Director Helene Hegemann of the film “Axolotl Overkil.”
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Co-Director Sabbah Folyan, Kayla Reed, Tef Poe, Co-director Damon Davis of the documentary film, “Whose Streets.”
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Actress Elizabeth Arjok, actor Fares Fares, director Tarik Saleh, actress Hania Amar, and actress Mari Malek of the film, “The Nile Hilton Incident.”
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Roxanne Shanté, and actress Nia Long of the film “Roxanne, Roxanne.”
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Actor Michael Larnell, actress Chante Adams, Roxanne Shanté, actor Elvis Nolasco, and actress Nia Long of the film “Roxanne, Roxanne.”
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Director Morgan Neville, Cristoph Neimann, Tinker Hatfield, and Scott Dadich of the Netflix series, “Abstract: Art of Design.”
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Cristoph Neimann of the Netflix series, “Abstract: Art of Design.”
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Director Morgan Neville of the Netflix series, “Abstract: Art of Design.”
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Scott Dadich of the Netflix series, “Abstract: Art of Design.”
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Actress Omono Okojie of the film “Gook.”
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Actor Curtiss Cook Jr., and actress Simone Baker of the film “Gook.”
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Actress Brittny Snow and actor Dave Bautista of the film, “Bushwick.”
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Director Austin Peter of the documentary film “Give Me Future.”
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Actress Cary Mulligan of the film “Mudbound.”
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Director and actor Justin Chon of the film, “Gook.”
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Director Lone Scherfig of the film “Their Finest.”
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Actress Pom Klementieff of the film “Ingrid Goes West.”
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Director Alexandre Moors of the film, “Yellow Birds.”
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Actor O’Shea Jackson Jr., actress Aubrey Plaza, director Matt Spicer, and actress Pom Klementieff of the film “Ingrid Goes West.”
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Richard Vevers, Director Jeff Orlowski and Zackery Rago of he film, “Chasing Coral.”
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Actress Chelsea Handler.
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Director Austin Peters, musician Jillionare, and singer/songwriter Diplo, of the documentary film “Give Me Future.”
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Singer/songwriter Diplo, Thomas Wesley Pentz of the documentary film “Give Me Future.”
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Musician Jillionaire of the documentary film “Give Me Future.”
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Actor Lakeith Stanfield of the film “The Incredible Jessica James.”
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Actor Chris O’Dowd of the film “The Incredible Jessica James.”
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Actress Jessica Williams of the film “The Incredible Jessica James.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Aubrey Plaza of the film, “Ingrid Goes West.”
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Actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. of the film “Ingrid Goes West.”
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Actress Jessica Williams of the film “The Incredible Jessica James.”
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Actress Mari Malek of the film “The Nile Hilton Incident.”
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Actress Jasna Fritzi Bauer of the film “Axolotl Overkil.”
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Executive Producer Tim Robbins and his son, Director Jack Henry Robbins, from the short “Hot Winter, A Film By Dick Pierre.”
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Actor Michael Larnell of the film “Roxanne, Roxanne.”
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Actor Garrett Hedlund of the film “Mudbound.”
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Executive Producers Christopher Cohen, Sean Hayes, Mark Herzog (kneeling) and Todd Milliner of the CNN series, “History of Comedy.”
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Executive Producer Sean Hayes of the television series, “History of Comedy.”
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Actress Melanie Lynskey of the film, “I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore.”
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Actress Nia Long of the film “Roxanne, Roxanne.”
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Actress Simone Baker of the film, “Gook.”
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Actress Elizabeth Arjok of the film, “The Nile Hilton Incident.”
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Roxanne Shante of the film “Roxanne, Roxanne.”
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Actor Elvis Nolasco of the film “Roxanne, Roxanne.”
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Jack Henry Robbins, from the short, “Hot Winter, A Film By Dick Pierre.”
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Actress Mari Malek of the film “The Nile Hilton Incident.”
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Actress Jasna Fritzi Bauer of the film “Axolotl Overkil.”
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Actress Maya Stange, director Damien Power and actor Aaron Glenna from the film “Killing Ground.”
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Actress Tavi Gevinson with the film “Person to Person.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Dolores Huerta from the documentary “Dolores.”
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Director
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Actor Jorma Taccone from the film “L.A. Times.”
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Actor Aaron Glenane from the film “Killing Ground.”
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Actress Kate Micucci with the film “The Little Hours.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Dree Hemingway with the film “L.A. Times.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Directors Andrew Smith and Alex Smith with the film “Walking Out.”
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Actress Molly Shannon from the film “The Little Hours.”
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Actor Jason Ritter with the film “Bitch.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Lauren Weedman, actor Jon Gabrus, actress Kate Micucci, director Jeff Baena, actress Alison Brie, actor Dave Franco, Adam Pally and actress Molly Shannon with the film “The Little Hours.”
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Actor Dave Franco with the film “The Little Hours.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress/director Michelle Morgan and actors Jorma Taccone and Dree Hemingway from the film “L.A. Times.”
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Director Marina Zenovich of the film “Water and Power.”
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Actress Abbi Jacobson with the film “Person to Person.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Florence Pugh and director William Oldroyd from the film “Lady MacBeth.”
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Producer Ryland Aldrich, from the film “L.A. Times.”
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Actress Maya Stange with the film “Killing Ground.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Front: Actors Kingston Foster and Jason Maybaum; back: actors Rio Mangini Jason Ritter and Brighton Sharbino from the film “Bitch.”
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Actress Kingston Foster, director Marianna Palka, actress Brighton Sharbino, actor Rio Mangini, actor Jason Ritter, actor Jason Maybaum, actress Jaime King and actor Zac Clark with the film “Bitch.”
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Director Marianna Palka with the film “Bitch.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Brighton Sharbino mingles with the rest of the cast of the film “Bitch.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Director Amanda Lipitz, center, and step team members, from left, Tayla Solomon, Cori Granger and Blessin Giraldo from the documentary “Step.”
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Directors Jon Shenk and Bonni Cohen with the film “Follow Up to An Inconvenient Truth.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Producer Carlos Santana with the film “Dolores.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Team members, from left, Tayla Solomon, Cori Granger and Blessin Giraldo from the documentary “Step.”
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Director Kristen Stewart and actor Josh Kaye with the film “Come Swim.” (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actress Zoe Kazan with the film “The Big Sick.”
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Joshua Wong and director Joe Piscatella with the documentary “Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower.”
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From left, producer Barry Mendel, actress Holly Hunter, director Michael Showalter, actress Zoe Karan, writer Emily V. Gordon, writer Kumail Nanjiani, and producer Judd Apatow with the film “The Big Sick.”
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Husband and wife co-writers Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon from “The Big Sick.”
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Consulting Producer Benjamin Bratt of the film “Dolores.”
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Director Kristen Stewart of the film “Come Swim.”
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Actress Holly Hunter with the film “The Big Sick.”
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Actor Logan Miller, actress Cynthy Wu, director Ry-Russo Young and actresses Zoey Deutch, Elena Kampouris, Medalion Rahimi and Jennifer Beals, from the film “Before I Fall.”
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Actress Zoey Deutch, from the film “Before I Fall.”
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Actress Medalion Rahimi, from the film “Before I Fall.”
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Actress Elena Kampouris, from the film “Before I Fall.”
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Actress Jennifer Beals, from the film “Before I Fall.”
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Actress Cynthy Wu, from the film “Before I Fall.”
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Actor Logan Miller, from “Before I Fall.”
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Actor Miles Fischer, from the television show “Playdates.”
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Composer Dan Romer, from the films “The Little Hours” and “Chasing Coral.”
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Director Jamie Greenberg, who’s at Sundance with the film “Future ’38.”
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Directors Shaul Schwarz and Christina Clusiau, with the documentary “Trophy.”
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Peter Nicks director of the documentary film “The Force.”
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Composer Dan Romer, attending Sundance with the films “The Little Hours” and “Chasing Coral.”
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actors Paul Scheer and Carla Gallo, from the television show “Playdates.”
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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Actors Paul Scheer, left, Carla Gallo and Miles Fisher, from the television show “Playdates.”
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
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“I wanted to externalize a literally internal thought process,” she said. “I read through poems of mine from the past few years and I was like ‘I’m writing the same poem over and over. If I don’t make this movie I can’t move on.’”
Was that poem about lost love? Stewart didn’t elaborate. But she did say it was informed by a breakup-related observation. “It’s looking around at people every day and saying — screaming — inside ‘How are you OK? I’m not OK!’”
“Come Swim” features a 30-ish man (Josh Kaye) in various states of desperation. He drinks liquids fervently — from a water bottle, a sink, any source, really — but never manages to slake his thirst. A woman’s voice, meanwhile, bangs around his head, saying the same things and triggering his quenching urges. Themes of wetness and dryness run throughout — a man lying at the bottom of the ocean, or crawling parched across an expanse of sand. (The movie, it bears noting, was scored by St. Vincent, a recent Stewart ex.)
Director Kristen Stewart and actor Josh Kaye with the film “Come Swim.”
(Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
Unapologetically awash in symbolism and inscrutable imagery, “Come Swim” could test Stewart’s fan base, or at least divide it into two camps: those who devotedly follow her wherever she goes and those who want to see her in a more conventional story (or see her, period). As with Ryan Gosling’s “Lost River,” “Come Swim” makes few concessions to accessibility: it’s a star saying they didn’t build up all that leverage or wade through all that paparazzi muck not to earn a license for full-on experimentalism.
Not that its director sees the movie as impenetrable.
“Dude, it’s totally about personal relationships,” Stewart said, using one of her go-to sentence-starters. “Full-on heartbreak. I think it started in my mind as opaque. But in the end, it’s clear. This is straight-on..I mean, I put a picture of the [main character’s] girlfriend on the wall.”
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Stewart’s own breakups, she said, were difficult — deeply, existentially so, ultimately jolting her from the many hours of acting work she took on to forget about them.
“These traumatic occurrences, they actually force you to think instead of being caught up in distractions,” said Stewart, who in speech uses elliptical enthusiasms and a rapid-fire delivery, as if Wordsworth was roused from the dead and came back as a skater-girl. “That’s what I wanted [with this film] — to all of a sudden say ‘I realize I have a body and I’m alone and you’re alone and we’re all alone and we’re all together in our loneliness.””
She said the process for the film began with a feeling.
“I started with an outline — no dialogue — about someone who knew what they needed but their system couldn’t absorb that. They tried every day and just couldn’t. Then the imagery just started appearing to me. And the film really began creating itself — it knew exactly what it wanted to be.”
Though she didn’t say that had anything to do with the fallout from her breakup with Robert Pattinson — “I don’t want to reduce it to one relationship” — she may not have to. Stewart admitted that she’d been “thinking about [this film] for four years,” a period that basically lines up with her high-profile split from her longtime “Twilight” costar.
That would give this film a certain riposte quality — a tacit statement to him, basically, that “no matter how hard I tried, I could never get what I needed.” (Though unlike such famous subtextual song-based battles between exes — Taylor Swift and John Mayer, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake — it’s hard to imagine Pattinson retorting with a short of his own.)
Still, just because it came from a place of heartbreak, this film was not, Stewart said, innately a heartbreaking film.
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“It’s ‘I need this bottle of water and every day I’m drying out.’ But it’s also what I finally recognized: ‘I’ve been so crazy and all I need to go outside and it will be better. Because if you stay in here, it’s always dark.’”
“I wanted,” she added, “for this reconstitution to be glorious.”
Was that slightly compromised by the fact that this movie saw a collaboration with St. Vincent — that the panacea for heartbreak was now tinged with the same? “I am,” she said, “very good at compartmentalizing.”
Stewart doesn’t seem to be interested in giving up acting. But she does seem serious when she says getting behind the camera gives her a higher level of satisfaction.
“I’ve done movies as an actor that I go ‘that’s a piece of ...,” using a synonym for garbage. “And I can get past it. ‘I had moments in it; no big deal.’ As an actor, I’m not results-oriented — it’s the experience. I can throw my hands up and say [to the director] ‘That’s your thing.’ But as a director, it’s different. I want this to be in my catalogue. And that’s … exciting. It’s ‘There’s nothing left to say.’ I look at every one of these 17 minutes and I love them. It’s all there. Mic drop.’’
Long-term she does want to develop “Come Swim” into a feature and has little concern about stretching its abstractions to feature length. “I could easily do 120 minutes,” Stewart said.
She also is returning to directing more imminently. Her next movie is another short. Refinery 29 has again agreed to fund it, Stewart said, and it will be “pretty and dark and about gun control,” done in the style of a music video, potentially built on an original song. Stewart will continue making trips to unorthodox wells. Whether other people drink is up to them.
Steven Zeitchik is a former Los Angeles Times staff writer who covered film and the larger world of Hollywood for the paper from 2009 to 2017, exploring the personalities, issues, content and consequences of both the creative and business (and, increasingly, digital) aspects of our screen entertainment. He previously covered entertainment beats at Variety and the Hollywood Reporter, has contributed arts and culture pieces to the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times and has done journalistic tours of duty in Jerusalem and Berlin. While at The Times he has also reported stories in cities ranging from Cairo to Krakow, though Hollywood can still seem like the most exotic destination of all.
