Burbank, CA – Saturday March 23, 2013 – Today, Cinema Without Borders and The Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute announced Golsa Sarabi as the first winner of their “Young Acting Talent Award”.
Golsa Sarabi received this award for her outstanding acting talent, her passion for the arts of theatre and cinema, as well as her brave appearance on the international stage of the Queen of The Universe Pageant in the name of her country of origin, Iran. Golsa found herself amongst the top ten candidates for the Queen of The Universe Pageant 2013 and also received the “Queen of the Universe” award.
As the first winner of the “Young Acting Talent Award”, Golsa Sarabi will receive a certificate for an upcoming Method Acting Intensive provided by The Lee Strasberg Theater & Film Institute in West Hollywood, valued at $2000.
The following is our interview with Golsa.
Bijan Tehrani: Please tell us a little bit about your background, how you got into theatre, and your move to the US.
Golsa Sarabi: My name is Golsa Sarabi. I go by the name Mirage in the industry. I started my acting and modeling career in Vancouver and I went to the school of modeling and acting called John Casablanca. I finished the program there and participated in some fashion runways, different fashion shows. I then had to go back to Iran and there I took more acting classes but it was a little bit more thoughtful and professional for me at that time and I started to perform in different plays in Iran. These were great experiences for me. I participated in a few short films as well. Then I came to the United States in April 2009; I was more into fitness at the time but I got an offer to perform in a play here in Los Angeles so I moved to Los Angeles, I performed in the play last year and then I was offered to participate in the Queen of the Universe Pageant. I started to do some research about it to see what the pageant was for, I’ve gotten to know the people from the organization and it’s been such an honor to be able to participate in that pageant for me.
BT: Tell us about your success, which was a very interesting surprise and great news for the Iranian-American community.
GS: Thank you, I appreciate that. Actually, I was able to get into the top 10 most beautiful women of the world between 57 countries that were participating in the pageant. I also got the Queen of the Universe Award, it was very beautiful to be able to win that award.
BT: I know you are interested in getting into the movie industry as an actress. Tell us about that.
GS: Absolutely! I am very interested. When I came to Los Angeles last year and performed in a play, it was such a great opportunity for me because to be honest with you, coming from a Persian background, my family has always been against my acting, it’s been very hard to follow my heart. But I knew in my heart I could see a lot of great offers, a lot of great opinions as soon as I got started in the path. A lot of people were very grateful and giving me very positive reactions and positive feedback. So I knew in my heart that I could do it and would be very successful, but at the same time I had obstacles because of my culture and because of my family – who were asking me to be a doctor or lawyer or in science, which was fine but it wasn’t something that could satisfy my heart. When I was going back to the acting industry, I could feel more alive. I really enjoy being on the set even for thirteen hours or more and I was working super hard for it! So yes, I would definitely love to continue my path here in Los Angeles, going to the best acting classes as much as possible, and starting to move on and getting different offers. 
BT: Which other Iranian actresses around the world do you like and what do you think about them?
GS: I feel like the women who are working in Iran with all the restrictions and everything are such brave women; they follow their heart, they go over a lot of challenges. We also have different actresses such as Golshifteh Farahani, who was amazing coming out of Iran and starting her path in different countries, working very hard to get to work in the industry even abroad and away from her country. Honestly, I really appreciate all of them in my heart, the women who are in the country, the women who got out of the country. I really like Fatemeh Mohamadaria She is such a great actress and I always look forward to seeing her work and a lot of plays she does… but we have so many actresses. I really appreciate what challenges they overcame and how they followed their passion in spite of all that is going on in Iran.
BT: On the international scene, which actresses do you look up to for inspiration?
GS: I love Sandra Bullock, I always look forward to her work. Meryl Streep is one of my favorite. Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, I always enjoy looking in Al Pacino’s eyes. He always has something to say and I always love to see his work.
BT: Also congratulation on winning CWB/Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Institute Young Acting Talent Award. Tell us about your reaction to the award and the prize; the Method Acting Intensive at the Lee Strasburg Institute.
GS: As the day that I have started my acting classes, even that I was living in Iran, I got to know and learn about different schools of acting. I’ve started to read and learn about so many different methods, which the Method Acting was the only one that I’ve truly got connected. Almost everyone in the field of theater and cinema in Iran knows about The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute and it has been my dream to attend classes at this prestigious institute. I am happy that my dream has come through. For me this is just a miracle and I am honored to be able to receive the CWB/The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute Recognition award and attend and experience the most Amazing School of Acting in the world. I truly appreciate your recognition and giving me the opportunity to be able to use my talent and power better to achieve my goals, and I promise you that I will do my best to make the best out of this great opportunity.
BT: I wish you luck and success.
GS: Thank you. I appreciate it!