Film still of Come Swim © RR
Kristen Stewart in poetic mood for her directorial debut, Come Swim
The American actress Kristen Stewart who opened the 69th Festival de Cannes with Café Society (2016) alongside Woody Allen, steps behind the camera for the first time with her short film Come Swim. To mark the Festival's 70th anniversary, the film will feature as a Special Screening.
Kristen Stewart, whose charm and acting skills have entranced directors David Fincher, Sean Penn, Rupert Sanders, Olivier Assayas and Woody Allen, has revealed another side to her personality with Come Swim, her first film as a director. The short film charts a day in the life of a man through a portrayal which is by turns impressionistic and realistic, as seen through the eyes of the filmmaker.
At the origin of Come Swim is an image – that of a pleasant siesta at the edge of the ocean. To push beyond the limits of her imagination, Kristen Stewart makes use of painting and poetry – the first scene of the film is imbued with the tones and aesethetic of this original visiona nd painting, which give Come Swim such a particular impressionist style.
I wanted to capture that image which is as obsessive as the recurring thoughts that first gave rise to it. What I thought was just an image in my head was in fact something much more expansive.
Kristen Stewart, who has felt the urge to step behind the camera ever since she was ten, spent two years working on Come Swim. To help make the project a reality, she brought in producer David Shapiro with whom she had already made a video clip. This year, she brings her work all the way to Cannes, having already climbed the steps as an actress in On the Road (2012), Sils Maria (2014), Personal Shopper (2016) and Café Society (2016).
