Kristen Stewart thinks women need a "leg up" in the movie business

The Hollywood star - who recently premiered 'The Chronology of Water' at the Cannes Film Festival - told IndieWire: "This was not without help. I needed to have a couple of public temper tantrums in order to get the right people to listen.

"I have this stunning collaborator in Charles Gillibert, who [produced] 'On the Road', 'Personal Shopper', and 'Clouds of Sils Maria'. He understands that [women] need help and we need a f****** leg up.

"It took a long time to get this made. Yeah. It took forever."

Kristen eventually became convinced she could make the movie after auditioning Imogen Poots for the role of Lidia Yuknavitch.

The actress-turned-director has heaped praise on Imogen, 35.

Kristen said: "She's a walking motif. Look at her eyes.

"Visually, I was taken aback when her face filled my Zoom screen in which we did a pseudo audition, aah, I started getting this feeling: 'Oh, my God, the movie might exist.'"

Kristen hopes 'The Chronology of Water' can actually trigger a change within the movie business.

The first-time director hopes that her project will encourage more movie studios to explore female narratives.

Kristen - who is best known for playing Bella Swan in the 'Twilight' film franchise - said during a panel at Deadline's Cannes Film Festival studio: "We broke the seal. Hopefully we can start flooding, gushing into view."

The actress believes cinemagoers have been presented with "prescribed stories" for too long.

She said: "We get prescribed stories just shoved into our faces, down our throats."

What's more, Kristen is frustrated with how women are often portrayed on the big screen.

The movie star - whose acting credits include 'Cafe Society' and 'Crimes of the Future' - explained: "The imagery that we consume, the conversations that are not allowed, the fact that we can't tell people when we're bleeding, like it's gross or something."