Filmmaker / Actress ANGELA MATEMOTJA Named ‘Best Director’ at London’s 2019 Rainbow Umbrella Film Festival for Debut Feature ‘ELEVATE’

Next Film Heads to Rapid Lion: The South African Int’l Film Festival in Johannesburg

LOS ANGELES – Award-winning filmmaker and actress Angela Matemotja earns ‘Best Director’ award for her feature film debut, ELEVATE, at the Rainbow Umbrella Film Festival, a new LGBTQ focused event in North London, U.K.

Writing, directing and starring in ELEVATE, Matemotja delivers a drama of intertwining stories about people who must fight to overcome their struggles with homophobia, food addiction and racism. Matemotja shares, “winning Best Director from an emerging LGBTQ festival is an honor. The fact that it screened in London really warms my heart, as I lived there years ago and fell in love with the city.”

ELEVATE will continue on the international circuit this March as an ‘Official Selection’ at Rapid Lion: The South African International Film Festival in Johannesburg. Matemotja has close ties to South Africa, as she is half South African and it was while living there that she first began developing the project. She also loosely based one character in the film ‘Sipho’ on her South African father, who also plays the role in the film. Matemotja shares, “I’m especially excited the film is screening in Johannesburg as my hope is to help ‘elevate’ the minds and hearts of anyone struggling with homophobia and racism, as these issues are so prevalent on the continent.”

Last fall, Matemotja earned the ‘Female Pioneer Award’ when ELEVATE premiered at the DTLA Film Festival in Los Angeles. Prior to this, the film earned an Award of Merit for Best Feature Film and Best Actress in a Leading Role (Angela Matemotja) from the Accolade Global Film Competition.

ELEVATE follows the story of Trina, an overweight elevator switchboard operator who desperately tries to accomplish just one day of healthy eating. Overwhelmed by her abusive boss and by the trapped elevator occupants that reach out to her for help, her fitness guru provides the inspiration and escape that she craves – or does she? Ultimately, all of the occupants in this trapped world find themselves caught face-to-face with their inner demons.

The film also stars Brianna Brown (CW’S Dynasty), Kit Williamson (creator/star of award-winning and Emmy nominated LGBTQ series Eastsiders), Alexis Carra (Latina star of ABC’s Mixology) and Matemotja (Tyler Perry’s Single Mom’s Club). To produce the film, Matemotja turned to Dele Ogundiran, who is also African, and Brown, who is the CEO of the non-profit The New Hollywood, which is dedicated to supporting socially conscious storytellers and changemakers.

As an actress, 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.

Behind the camera, Matemotja 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, earning the Grand Jury Award at the White Sands Int’l FF, Honorable Mention at Toronto CommFFest and nominations for Best Short Film at SoCal FF, SOHO FF and Long Island Int’l Film Expo. Her second short, The Untimely Concurrence, won Best LGBTQ Film at AOF FF, San Francisco Black FF and San Diego Black FF, and the Silver Screen Award for Best Short Film at the Nevada Int’l FF. In addition, her screenplay Drunk Book was awarded Best Comedy Short for the written word competition at AOF FF.

For more about ELEVATE visit: ElevateFilm.com