This week 25 years ago, one of the most successful and important series in the history of Israeli television was broadcast: “Florentine”. The series, which aired on the defunct “Talad” franchise, brought the story of a group of young Tel Avivians, was one of the first dramas broadcast on Channel 2, received critical acclaim and brought the discredited young channel a slightly more respectable image. It was also one of the first series (it was preceded by “Straight and to the point”, which was not successful) that presented characters from the LGBT community in a serious and non-stereotypical manner, and also dealt with national issues such as the Rabin murder, which was still a fresh memory.
On the half anniversary of its rise, we set out to check where the cast members of “Florentine” are today.
Karin Ofir
The daughter of the legendary comedian Sheika Ophir, who was also Aviv Gefen’s partner and guested on the song “Beit Nevana” on Gefen’s first album, became a big star in her own right thanks to “Florentine”, when she played Tutti, one of the main characters. After the series dropped, she appeared in the sketch show “Cuckoo’s Nest”, a forgotten follow-up series to “Comedy Store” with Gil Sassover and Assaf Eshtar, and in the successful telenovela “Hashofim”, focusing mainly on the theater. In the last year Ofir started a musical career and released her first song, “Longings for…”.
Uri Banai
In the series, Banai played Iggy – a baker, Tutti’s roommate, and an out-of-the-closet homosexual who is confident and proud of his sexual identity. After “Florentine”, Banai continued his acting career when, among other things, he starred in the musical “Bostan Spardi” in Bhima, and at the same time, according to the best family tradition, he began a musical career. In 2000 he released his first album, from which the mega-hit “Butterflies” stood out, and in 2008 he released a second album that did not repeat the success. In recent years, Banai presents the renewed version of “Nice Butterfly” on educational television, and participates alongside his father Gabri and his brother Boaz in the show “Everyone Was Banai”, a tribute and salute show to the leading family in the world of entertainment.
Uri Banai (Photo: Moshe Porat)Sammy my parents
Sami Hori, who played Kobi in “Florentine”, the object of Tutti’s love, made a big splash at that time and became a huge star. He continued to star in the telenovela “Love Around the Corner” and in the drama “The Truck” with Zeev Vahef, appeared in many commercials, played in the theater and even participated in the premiere season of “Dancing with the Stars”, where he danced next to Anna Aronov and reached the finals. Over time my father disappeared from the limelight and found himself in other fields, and in recent years he has been working as a photographer.
Sammy Hori (photo: screenshot)Ayelet Zurer
If there is one member of the “Florentine” cast that there is no need to ask where she is today, it is Ayelet Zorer. 25 years after she portrayed Shira in “Florentine”, a presenter on the children’s channel, Zorer continues to be one of the most successful and busiest Israeli actresses, in Israel and abroad. Only in the last year, Zorer, who lives in Los Angeles, starred in the successful series “You” on Netflix, and at the same time She did not deprive the Israeli audience and played the main role in the drama “Losing Alice” in Hot.
Ayelet Zorer (Photo: Rafi Deloya)Terror witnesses
Terer played Maor, Shira’s partner, in the series. Shortly after the relegation of “Florentine” Terer repented. In 2019, he told the “Zahar.net” website: “I flew to New York, I tried to bring the Oscar. I believed in my art and that I would really bring the Oscar. And suddenly a Chabad Hasid came to me and asked me to put on a tefillin. The first time I asked him to move away from me because he was getting in my way. A second time I asked him how much time it would take of my time? And he answered ‘2 minutes’. And from there I started to get stronger.”
Dana Modan
Another member of the “Florentine” cast who continues to make a difference to this day is Dana Moden, who played the gossip reporter Gali Lev. After the series dropped, Moden presented the wild light night “Dangerous Relationships” on Channel 2 and the funny “Double Date” on “Bip” alongside Roi Levy, and at the same time she created the successful series “Love Hurts” and “That’s How It Is”, in both of which she also starred in the role The main one next to Assi Cohen.
Dana Moden (Photo: Yeh’ach)Ami Smolarchik
Smolarchik played Hanan Haganan, Gali’s partner, in the series. To this day, Smolarchik continues to be an active and busy actor, appearing in several of the successful series of the last decade: “Lockdown Time”, “Tagad”, “Sabri Marnan” and more, and at the same time he also stars in the theater. ” by Hanoch Levin, at the Bhima Theater.
Avshalom Polak
Pollak played Tomer, the third roommate of Tutti and Iggy, a film student who faces doubts about his sexual identity, and finally, in one of the memorable scenes broadcast on Israeli television, comes out of the closet in front of his parents during Yitzhak Rabin’s funeral. Polak continued to perform on several occasions as an actor, but his main occupation today is dance: he manages the “Avshalom Polak Theater Dance Company” (in the past in partnership with his ex-partner Inbal Pinto, and in recent years alone), and in 2016 he won an award from the Ministry of Culture and Sports for the show “Parhakir “. In 2021 he starred in Nadav Lapid’s movie “The Knee” and was nominated for the Ophir Award.
Avshalom Polak (Photo: Wikipedia)Nir Friedman
In the series, the musician Nir Friedman played Tsamar, also a musician, who was Gali’s partner at the beginning of the series until she broke up with him. At that time, the real Friedman was the lead singer of the band “The Shwang of the Pitah”, and in the series the band appears as the “Wool Band”, with the song “Eating from the Side”. These days “The Shwang of the Pitah” is holding a reunion tour. In the last year, Friedman published “Montana”, an album he recorded about 20 years ago with the actress Esi Levy Vanganz.