Six-time NAACP Image Award winner Roger M. Bobb (For Colored Girls, Daddy’s Little Girls) marks his directorial debut with Raising Izzie, a GMC Network feature film. As the former Executive Vice President of Tyler Perry Studios, Raising Izzie is the first film produced under Roger’s new film and television production company, Bobbcat Films.
Soul Food veterans Vanessa Williams and Rockmond Dunbar reunite as co-stars for the project alongside two up-and-coming talents: Kyla Kenedy and Victoria Staley. The original screenplay was penned by David Martyn Conley and crowned the 2011 winner of the first annual GMC Faith and Family Screenplay Competition.
SYNOPSIS: Raising Izzie is the story of two young orphaned sisters and the caring teacher who changes their lives forever. When their mother passes away leaving them without an adult guardian, sisters Izzie (Kyla Kenedy) and Gertie Nash (Victoria Staley) are forced to grow up fast. Afraid her daughters will be separated if they are placed in the foster care system, their mother makes the necessary arrangements for Gertie and Izzie to live on their own, with a bank account, apartment and small on-line business to support themselves.
Older sister Gertie takes care of her little sister in addition to working and attending school. For a year, the girls are able to hide their predicament from their neighbors, their landlord and even their teachers. But when Tonya Freeman (Vanessa Williams), Gertie’s new teacher, becomes suspicious, the girls have to come up with a new plan to protect their secret. After Tonya confronts the girls and they confess to their situation, Tonya has to decide how to protect them and keep them together against the will of her husband Greg (Rockmond Dunbar).
Raising Izzie premieres on Saturday, July 21 and Sunday, July 22 at 7PM, 9PM, and 11PM.