##Could you tell us something about your background and upbringing I was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria. I grew up in the 90s just after the fall of communism, which was a difficult and dangerous period for my country and for most people in it. I moved to Vienna when I was 13 years old. In Vienna, I studied at art school and specialized in painting and art history. I started my modeling career when I was 17 years old. Soon after that, I started travelling and was fortunate enough to visit many beautiful places and meet many interesting people…including artists. 

Describe your daily life as a model  Depending on the day, I either have a photo shoot or castings. Other than that, I take care of my body and my mind. I love books, I paint and I act as much as I can. 

What got you interested in acting? I always got great feedback about my presence in front of the camera. People would say that I’m a chameleon. I love jumping into different characters and playing roles. After years of changing my mind about what else I want to do, my mom suggested I try an acting class and see if I like it. Well…I loved it! My very first acting class was at the Susan Batson Studio (how lucky right?!) in New York City. I’ve been acting ever since. What I most love about acting is the opportunity to tell a story and breathe life into a character, by using all sides of my personality. I get to play, do things I wouldn’t do in real life and don’t have to pay the price.

Tell us all about the film ‘Double Riddle, What Color Do You See? It is my first feature film. It’s a psychological thriller, drama, mystery about a guy quitting his job, losing his girlfriend and then strange things start happening. I’d rather not tell too much about the story or my character Iris, but I want to say that I had amazing time (though we shot all my scenes in a week!) shooting this film. I had so much fun playing Iris; she is a failed artist, an alcoholic who just can’t find her place in this life. I had the best support from my director Fernando Castro and the whole crew!

 Have you won any awards? Yes, I have. I have won 2 awards for Best Lead Actress in a feature film. The first one was in London in February, 2019 at the Film Fest International and the second one was in May, 2019 at the Fusion Film festival in Valencia, Spain.

What was your impression of Valencia? I’m so glad I got the chance to visit Valencia and, most importantly, to be a part of the Fusion Film Festival. Of course, the win was the icing on my cake! But also I really enjoyed the city itself. I only had an afternoon to walk around. I’m sure I didn’t see even half of it but what I saw was beautiful…amazing architecture, especially in the old town. Many beautiful little shops, restaurants, cafes. I had delicious food, was able to find amazing things to bring back home but most importantly I was inspired and impressed by the sight of Valencia. 

 What does Marilyn Monroe mean to you? When I studied acting in NY, Susan Batson gave me the character of Marilyn Monroe to work on. After 3 years of research and working on a one woman show about her, I feel I know Marilyn better than most people who never got the chance to meet her. I’m just so overwhelmed by her, her life, all the obstacles she met and after all she was able to rise and become the icon that she still is and will be for many year to come! What does it take for someone to overcome what she did and have the strength and the will to survive and not only survive but achieve what she did? I’m not sure I can answer that but I have theories, and whatever is true, it’s just inspiring.    

Any plans for the future? I’m planning to move back to New York this year and have my stage debut there with my show about Marilyn. I hope to act and model as much as possible, there are so many characters I’d love to play. I do have a couple of projects already lined up but I can’t talk about them just yet…    

Interview by Will McCarthy

Trailer for the film: https://youtu.be/lKKBB3C3zY0

More information about the Film Festival: https://www.facebook.com/fusionfilmfests/

More information about Martina Karra at  https://martina-karra.com/