Casting update on a project first announced in December 2011…

Former Executive Vice President of Tyler Perry Studios Roger Bobb, who left the company earlier last year to start his own film production company called Bobcat Films, will make his feature film directorial debut with a project titled Raising Izzie – a film that's based on the grand-prize winning script of the 1st annual GMC Faith & Family Screenplay Competition last year, and that will premiere on the GMC (Gospel Music Channel)this July.

Bobb, who'll also produce, and whose past credits include directing several episodes of Tyler Perry TV shows, will direct from a script penned by David Martyn Conley – a script that reportedly won the GMC Faith and Family screenplay competition earlier this year, and centers on "two orphaned sisters and a teacher who takes them under wing."

The film now has its starring cast which includes Vanessa Williams (of Soul Food fame, not the former Ms America), Rockmond Dunbar, Kyla Kenedy and Victoria Staley.

Here's a longer synopsis:

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). 

Principal photography began in Atlanta this month, with a June debut at the 2012 American Black Film Festival, a month or so before its TV premiere on GMC.