Director Rel Dowdell's "Changing The Game" Selected for 2011 Hollywood Black Film Festival

Oct. 11, 2011 - PRLog -- Philadelphia director Rel Dowdell's indie film "Changing The Game" has been chosen as one of only nine feature films to be screened at the 2011 Hollywood Black Film Festival (HBFF). The festival runs from October 27th through 30th and will be hosted at the Andaz Hotel, on the world famous Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, CA. "Changing The Game" screens on Saturday October 29th at 8:30PM at Laemmle's Sunset 5, Theater 4, located at 8000 Sunset Boulevard in West Hollywood.

Recognized as the premier Black film festival in Hollywood showcasing the best independent films from Black filmmakers, HBFF delivers top-shelf panels designed to empower filmmakers and expose Black film to diverse audiences right in the heart of the movie capital.

“Changing The Game,” based on the screenplay written by Dowdell and Aaron R. Astillero, is a compelling and universal tale about a supremely intelligent young African-American male who rises from the ferocious and oppressive streets of North Philadelphia to become a shining star in the lucrative world of high finance at Wall Street's most prestigious firm. However, he soon finds that the white-collar world is filled with crime and death just like the drug-filled hood he left behind. His only chance of survival is to fully integrate a mysterious gift from a slain childhood friend into the fabric of his character.

Yet again, Dowdell has assembled an enviable cast, including Tony Todd, Irma Hall, Kirk "Sticky Fingaz" Jones, Suzzanne Douglas and Sean Riggs. Among his other credits, Dowdell wrote and directed the number one African-American themed film in 2005 for Sony Pictures, “Train Ride”, which grossed over $20 million in revenues.

The film's soundtrack features performances from an impressive range of musical talent including Cee Knowledge (also known as Doodlebug of the Grammy-winning hip hop group Digable Planets), iconic rapper Dana Dane, female MC/producer duo KIN4LIFE, producer Russ "Russ Prez" Pressley, songwriter/producer Eddie "Sea" Caldwell and composer Charles Gregory Washington.


About the HBFF

Founded in 1999, The Hollywood Black Film Festival aims to enhance the careers of emerging and established North American filmmakers through a public exhibition, competition program and industry panels.  Known amongst the entertainment industry’s powerbrokers as, “The Black Sundance,” the festival brings independent works of accomplished and aspiring black filmmakers to an environment encompassing the mainstream Hollywood community and Southern California film-going audiences. The festival’s goal is to play an integral role in discovering and launching independent films and filmmakers by bringing them to the attention of the industry, press and public.

To register for the festival and see a full line up of events, visit www.hbff.org. For press credentials, contact Greg King at pr@hbff.org.

For more on "Changing The Game", visit Philly First Entertainment at:
http://www.Philly1st.com.

"Changing The Game" Official Trailer: http://www.imdb.com/video/wab/vi3021315097/.

"Changing the Game" on IMDb- Full Credits: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1569931/fullcredits.

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