'The Cake Eaters' is a quirky, small town, ensemble drama that explores the lives of two interconnected families coming to terms with love in the face of loss.

Living in rural America, The Kimbrough family is a normally odd bunch; Easy, the patriarch and local butcher, is grieving over the recent loss of his wife, Ceci, while hiding a secret ongoing affair for years; Beagle, his youngest son who was left to care for his ailing mother, works in the local high school cafeteria by day but has a burning passion inside that manifests itself through painting street signs; and the eldest son, Guy, has been away from the family for years while pursuing his rock star dream in the big city until the day he learns of his mother's passing and that he's missed the funeral.

Upon Guy's return home, relationships between the characters begin to unravel; Beagle's pent up emotions connect with Georgia Kaminski, a terminally ill teenage girl wanting to experience love before it's too late; Easy's long time affair with Marg, Georgia's eccentric grandmother, is finally exposed to the Kimbrough children; and Guy discovers that, in his absence, his high school sweetheart, Stephanie, has moved on and started a family of her own.

Through it all, The Kimbroughs and Kaminski's manage to establish a new beginning in the face of their greatest fears.

Sitting down one-on-one with star Kristen Stewart, I first wondered if getting a small indie film like 'The Cake Eaters' released was one definite advantage of her new-found popularity? "Oh yeah, of course. I mean we finished that movie some time ago and it was definitely a struggle to get it out there, so I’m glad that in some small way I can get to talk about a film that I’m excited about.”

There is little doubt that 'The Cake Eaters' is a vastly different character than Bella. In this quirky, family drama, Stewart is remarkable as Georgia a teenage girl suffering from Friedriech's Ataxia, a disease that attacks the nervous system making it hard for her to walk without shaking, or talk without slurring. “I met with a few girls who have this disease and in far worse shape than this character,” she explains when we talk about her preparation for this role. “It was definitely a tough piece to do, focusing on the way she walks and talks but then I also played her as I would with any character, as truthfully as I could.”

Stewart has always immersed herself into whatever she does and even more so in Cake Eaters. “Mary Stuart set me up with a lot of material and information but I couldn't physically do it until the day we started shooting because it felt cheap like I was faking something and, until it was actually real in the moment we were actually doing it and I was actually portraying this person, like I had to, then it felt right to do it. But, before that, it just didn’t feel right. It felt strange,” Stewart confesses.

As for working with first-time director Masterson, Stewart has nothing but praise. “She didn't seem like a first time director I can tell you that, probably because she's been acting since she was much younger than me. She really creates an environment for you that you just feel like you're in the best position to give as much as you can possibly give and, it sounds kind of lame, but she's really one of the most amazing role models I've ever had. She's very ambitious and I should learn from that.”

Stewart is, of course about to start shooting the long-awaited 'New Moon,' the second installment of the Twilight franchise. While there is a new director now on this film, the actress she is unconcerned about who is behind the camera but says she is excited about the new direction of the series. “It's a completely different story [than 'Twilight']. It entirely undermines the first. Edward is gone and, for me, like that was the whole story. It's hard for me to get past that. I don't know how Bella is going to deal with that but she matures a lot. It's a much more painful story than the first one. It's actually quite devastating and on a smaller scale as well. She's very solitary for quite a while so that will be interesting. I'm excited about that.”