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Watch Kristen Stewart's Surreal Short Film 'Come Swim'

GregHarmon GregHarmon Managing Editor Stewart, who was recently seen in Olivier Assayas’ haunting drama Personal Shopper and Ang Lee's post-war adaptation of Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, most recently added her third directorial credit with a beautiful short titled Come Swim

Josh Kaye in 'Come Swim'
Josh Kaye in 'Come Swim'

Watch the full-length short below!

In just under 18 years, the twenty-seven year old actress has quietly amassed forty-seven films (two uncredited) and two music video director credits to her ever-growing talent resume. Come Swim features Stewart's directorial debut in film and was showcased at Sundance and Cannes in a story that delves inside a young man's stream of consciousness while he wrestles with the crippling thoughts and emotions of a broken heart.

Swim's concept spawned from a simple image that turned into an obsession: “I was fixated on capturing the image of this man very content with sleeping on the ocean floor." Stewart told Shatterbox. "I was really obsessed with putting someone somewhere that they wouldn’t naturally inhabit, and having them sort of dwell. In that time in my life, that was incredibly appealing to me, it was just sort of about isolation."

Each minute of Swim's seventeen minute run time passes with ease, instilling a anxiety-laden 'place' that carries an abstract and thought-provoking narrative. Word to the wise, just don't expect a narrative that's transparent. But as Stewart shared, the end result is "pretty simple — the climax of the movie is initially incredibly grand and epic, in his own personal experience...[The point is to] stop aggrandizing your own pain. Everyone is the fucking same. We are plain as day, dude."

Whether you buy into Stewart's narrative is one thing, it's evident the talented actor's collaborations with filmmakers Olivier Assayas, Kelly Reichardt and Drake Doremus have influenced what looks to be a promising future in Directing.

Come Swim is produced by David Ethan Shapiro and scored by St. Vincent. The stream comes courtesy as part of Refinery29’s Shatterbox Shorts program.

Come Swim - Shatterbox Anthology Refinery 29

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GregHarmon GregHarmon Managing Editor

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