Arts & Entertainment
Rel Dowdell Gets Real
R
el Dowdell is a very gifted screen-
writer and director. Born and raised
in Philadelphia, he received his
Bachelor’s degree in English with magna
cum laude honors from Fisk University and
a Master’s Degree in Film with highest dis-
tinction from Boston University.
Dowdell’s first feature film, Train Ride,
was released to widespread critical acclaim.
Produced with independent financing, the
film was acquired and distributed by Sony
Pictures in 2005 and was a tremendous
financial success. The picture starred Wood
Harris, MC Lyte, Russell Hornsby, and the
late Esther Rolle in her last performance.
Train Ride was ranked as one of the best
American movies that year as cited by vet-
eran film critic Gerald Peary of The Boston
Phoenix. It also garnered high praise in film
historian Irv Slifkin’s book, “Filmadelphia:
A Celebration of a City’s Movies.” And it
won the honor of “Best Feature” at the
American Theatre of Harlem Film Festival
in 2005.
Rel Dowdell has been compared to John
Singleton and Spike Lee in the way that he
blends urban storytelling and suspense to
tackle relevant and universal social issues
intimately intertwined with a powerful
moral message. Here, Rel discusses his new
film, Changing the Game, a drama shot in
his hometown and starring Sean Riggs,
Irma P. Hall, Tony Todd, Dennis L.A. White
and Sticky Fingaz.
Kam Williams: Hi, Rel, thanks for the
interview.
Rel Dowdell: Absolutely! This is a
C ELEBRITY
I NTERVIEW
by Kam
Williams
great privilege of mine to be interviewed by
you, Mr. Williams. I have been a great
admirer of your work and writings for
years. You reviewing my film, “Changing
the Game” was an extremely significant
honor for me and everyone involved with
this landmark project.
“Changing the Game”
KW: How did you come up with the idea
of Changing the Game?
RD: I wanted to be daring and create a
film with an African-American male pro-
tagonist that combined genres, kind of like
a cross between “New Jack City” and “Wall
Street.” The key was to make sure to show
that the African-American male protagonist,
when given the chance to escape his viru-
lent, inner-city environment and become
successful, would make sure not to get
engulfed by it again, but at the same time,
never lose his sense of self and appreciate
the roots from which he originated, in order
to make smart decisions in his life.
KW: To what extent is the story autobio-
graphical?
RD: Wow! Good question. I think every
screenwriter takes pieces of him or herself
and integrates it into the fabric of some of
the characters in the screenplay when it’s
written. In life, you have to have street
sense as well as book sense if you’re going
to survive in this world. The main character,
Darrell Barnes (played by Sean Riggs), uses
spirituality and intelligence to guide him
through some of the pitfalls in his life. I can
fully relate to that. I had people pray for me
continuously during the more arduous times
in my life, just like the character of the
grandmother (played by Irma P. Hall) did
for Darrell. The part about adapting
philosophies of Niccolo Machiavelli to deal
with adversities and adversaries seemed
like an interesting element to me since I had
read texts such as Machiavelli’s “The
Prince” and “The Art of War” by Sun Tzu
numerous times during my academic years.
KW: How much time did each part of the
process take: the scriptwriting, raising
money, casting, screen location, shooting,
editing, and getting the final cut into the-
aters?
RD: It took me about 2 years to fully
Rel Dowdell
develop and write the script. After I con-
ceived the idea for the story, I brought a
friend of mine on named Aaron Astillero
who had a lot of knowledge about the inner
dealings of the stock market and Wall
Street. I wanted the story to be accurate and
authentic to what was going on at the time.
Then, after I was happy with the script, I
recruited a good friend of mine, veteran
actor Tony Todd (“Candyman” and “Final
Destination”) to be a part of the film. We
had met back in 2005 when my first film,
“Train Ride,” was showing at the Pan-
African Film Festival in Los Angeles. He
really liked the film and said he wanted to
work with me in the future. That was
See DOWDELL on page 11
“FOCUS EAST”
ARE YOU
READY ?
A free workshop dealing with Health, Job Employment, Law and Crime Prevention
In a crisis are you ready? Do you know who to
contact?
Are You Ready is a community wide event to help
residents find out the importance of public health,
emergency preparedness, mental health, and youth
engagement.
Many of our community have been displaced from
inner North and Northeast Portland and are unfamiliar
with the services available in East Portland.
Our goal is to help adults, children and families
become prepared for any crisis.
Come and learn what resources are available
Saturday August 4th,
10:30am-3:00pm
Midland Library (parking lot)
805, SE 122nd Ave., Portland
Free to the public, plus fun prizes, food!
For more information 503 285 5555 ext 501
Sponsored by The Skanner Foundation; Portland Parks and Recreation; Multnomah County; Highland Christian Center
July 4th, 2012 The Portland Skanner Page 7