Miami, Aug 24 (IANS/EFE): Actress Zoe Saldana in her latest film "Colombiana" plays a young woman out to revenge the murder of her parents that she watched in horror as a child.

The daughter of a Dominican father and Puerto Rican mother, Saldana told EFE that she felt attracted from the start by the character of Cataleya Restrepo, because "you don't see many action movies where the leading character is a woman".

The film premieres in the US Friday.

Saldana is currently in Miami promoting the film written by Luc Besson ("The Fifth Element") and directed by Olivier Megaton.

The title of the movie has been criticised by a number of Colombian organisations because a woman of that nationality is identified as a murderer.

For that reason a group of Colombians has announced it will distribute positive information about their country in front of movie theaters in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, where the film is being screened.

"I'm a little worried about all this, but it really wasn't our intention," Saldana said. "People have to go see the movie because it's an action story with a lot of heart, and above all because the leading character is a Latina."

The actress has acted in more than 20 films, though it was her work as Neytiri in the 2009 blockbuster "Avatar" that won her international fame.