Kristen Stewart has suggested she may leave the United States, saying that making her directorial debut, The Chronology of Water, would have been “impossible” in America under President Donald Trump. In an interview with The Times U.K., the actress-turned-filmmaker criticised the political climate and its impact on the film industry.
Stewart, who shot the Imogen Poots-starring drama in Latvia, said Trump’s proposed 100% tariff on foreign films was “terrifying” and that “reality is breaking completely under Trump.” She added, “I can’t work freely [in the U.S.], but I don’t want to give up completely. I’d like to make movies in Europe and then shove them down the throat of the American people.”
The Twilight star also contrasted her treatment as an actress with her experience as a director. “Actresses get treated like shit… People think anyone could be an actress, but the first time I sat down to talk about my movie as a director, they were talking to me like I’m somebody with a brain.” She noted that the idea of directors having “otherworldly abilities” is “perpetuated by men.”
Stewart’s comments come as the film industry faces economic pressures, with incentives luring productions to Canada and Australia. She joins other filmmakers, such as James Cameron, who have relocated abroad. Stewart concluded, “History really matters… The rewriting of history is happening because equality is becoming closer to a reality.”
