THE CAKE EATERS 

Thursday, November 8----------The Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival, which has been on the go since mid October, is entering into its star-studded final weekend with a host of special screenings and events. Tonight, the Festival's Centerpiece Film, THE CAKE EATERS, the directorial debut of actress Mary Stuart Masterson, makes its Southeast Premiere at the Maniaci Center for the Peforming Arts. The director, along with writer/actor Jayce Bartok, are in town for the festivities (an interview with both will be posted later tonight). THE CAKE EATERS is a humanistic family drama set in upstate New York, which tells the story of two families, whose most intimate secrets are revealed when the a prodigal son (played by Jayce Bartok) returns home following the death of the family's matriarch. The film stars veteran actors Elizabeth Ashley and Bruce Dern, and features a dynamic performance by young tyro Kristen Stewart, who can currently be seen on the big screen in Sean Penn's INTO THE WILD. The film had its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival and has been touring the rounds of the international film festival circuit ever since.

Masterson, who hails from a theatrical family and has been acting since she was a pre-teen, is probably best known to audiences for her archetypal tomboy role of Idgie Threadgoode in the film adaptation of the novel FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991). She has also starred opposite Eric Stoltz in the teen drama SOME KIND OF WONDERFUL (1989) and with Johnny Depp in BENNY AND JOON (1993), playing a mentally ill young woman who finds love with another eccentric. While she has been a busy working actor in films for nearly three decades, Masterson made an auspicious Broadway musical debut in 2003 with her lead role in the revival of the musical NINE, for which she won a host of theater awards and nominations. She seized on the directing challenge of THE CAKE EATERS, after responding to the multi-generation story written by first-time scenarist Jayce Bartok, with whom she shares an agent. Bartok, who based the film on his own small town Pennsylvania family's intimate relationships, has been a busy actor, appearing in the films SWING KIDS and SUBURBIA. He is working on several new scripts, as THE CAKE EATERS moves towards eventual theatrical distribution. Tonight's Centerpiece Film Screening will be followed by a special reception event, where audience members can meet and greet the director and actor.

Sandy Mandelberger, Fort Lauderdale FF Dailies Editor