We recently had the honor of interviewing Angela Matemotja on The Best Ever You Show and here on BestEverYou.com. We're also proud to issue our Elizabeth's Best Seal of Excellence to Angela for her film ELEVATE.
Angela Matemotja has appeared on screens big and small. Her notable feature film credits include the role of ‘Christina’ in Tyler Perry’s The Single Mom’s Club and alongside Kevin Hart in the indie comedy film Something Like A Business.
Her television roles include appearances on the CBS mega-hit comedy How I Met Your Mother, Amazon’s top cop-drama Bosch, ABC’s long-running series Castle and edgy sitcom Don’t Trust The B…, and Ryan Murphy’s modern laugher The New Normal on NBC.
Most recently she starred in her feature film ELEVATE, which she wrote and directed and won the Best Director Award from the Rainbow Umbrealla LGBTQ Film Festival in London, and she also earned an award of Merit for Best Feature Film and Best Actress in a Leading Role from the Accolade Global Film Competition.
Angela Matemotja’s directing debut was in the theatre back in 2005, when she earned an NAACP Award nomination for directing the stage play Sunshine For a Midnight Weary.
Her first short film as writer/director, The Encounter, screened at over 30 international film festivals, winning the Grand Jury Award at the White Sands International Film Festival, Honorable Mention at Toronto CommFFest Global Community Film Festival and nominations for Best Short Film at SoCal Film Festival, SOHO International Film Festival and Long Island International Film Expo in New York.
Her second short, The Untimely Concurrence, won Best LGBTQ Film at Action on Film International Film Festival, San Francisco Black Film Festival, San Diego Black Film Festival, and won the Silver Screen Award for Best Short Film at the Nevada International Film Festival.
In 2015 she also produced a short film entitled Shoshannah’s Skateboard, which won Best Family Film at Columbia Gorge International Film Festival, and won the Hearts Minds and Souls Award at the Rhode Island International Film Festival. In addition, her screenplay Drunk Book was awarded Best Comedy Short for the written word competition at Action on Film Festival where she also received the ‘Excellence in Writing” Award, and was was also nominated at the Austin Revolution Film Festival.
Most recently her feature film Elevate received two awards of merit from the Accolade Global Film Competition, Angela won the Female Pioneer Award at the 10th Annual Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, won the Best Director Award at LBGTQ Rainbow Umbrella Festival in January 2019 and Best Inspirational Feature Film in March 2019 at the Golden State International Film Festival. Elevate will be released online on July 2nd.
Here's a bit more about Angela in our online Best Ever You "Featuring You" interview:
How did you get to be where you are today? Have you ever been fired?
I've always made an effort to surround myself with positive and supportive people. Meditation and journaling have always been great reflective tools.
What are your real passions?
I love acting, directing, writing and supporting other artists.
If you won the lottery, what would you do?
Create more socially conscious film and television projects that help elevate our awareness and capacity for empathy.
What do you do to help others be their best?
I help fellow actors and writers create their own socially conscious projects through my consulting at selfproducingpartner.com and my podcast indiefilmtribe.com
How do you help yourself be the best you can be?
Create. Write. Journal, meditate and not take myself too seriously. I also laugh a lot.
What do you like to do in your personal life?
I love live concerts. Big punk rock fan!
What do you hope to accomplish in the future?
Create a platform for independent filmmakers to create, support and distribute their own projects successfully.
What is a book or two that you recommend?
The Four Agreements and Life Visioning by Rev Michael Beckwith
Please give us one or two shameless plugs.
What are some of your favorites? (books, websites, etc..) Why do you do what you do?
I feel our world is in crises and I believe that art can heal.
What are a few of your goals? What do the words "Best Ever You" mean to you?
Best Ever You, to me means living an authentic life on purpose. We are all here for a reason. Know your reason and do the work you were called here to do.
Nicce share