Avigail Kovari

Avigail Atara Kovari (Hebrew: אביגיל עטרה קובארי‎; born on July 14, 1987) is an Israeli singer, musician, and television and film actress. She won the Best Actress award at the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2018 for her role in the film Red Cow.

Avigail Kovari
אביגיל קובארי
Born (1987-07-14) 14 July 1987
Jerusalem
NationalityIsraeli
OccupationSinger, musician, film and television actress

Biography

Kovari was born in Jerusalem to a religious family. Her parents were born in the United States, and are second generation to Holocaust survivors.[1] She is the youngest of four children, three of whom left their religious life, including Kovari. Her mother, Hannah Levinsky, was a major influence on her. According to Kovari, "my mother is a feminist within the religious community. Being a religious feminist means continually protesting against your own system."[2]

After completing her compulsory military service, Kovari moved to Tel Aviv to pursue a career as a musician.[3] She began the process of leaving religion behind in 2013.

Kovari completed her BA in art and education at the Kibbutzim College of Education, Technology and the Arts, and is an ayurvedic therapist.[4]

Career

Music

In high school, Kovari sang in a band started by some friends, and performed around Jerusalem. After moving to Tel Aviv, she began studying music at the Rimon School of Jazz and Contemporary Music, but dropped out after a year and a half, at age 23. She said of the experience, "the most important thing I learned there was how I don't wan't to sound and how I don't want to look on stage." She later completed a songwriting workshop with Dan Toren and Meir Goldberg.

While still at Rimon, she met fellow musician Ziv Zack, with whom she established the indie rock band Kovari. The other bandmates are Maor Allush (bass and backup vocals) and Itai Kfir (drums). Zack produces, arranges and plays electric guitar, while Kovari sings lead and writes.[5]

The band's debut album, Dat Bayit Elohim Ahava (religion, home, god, love) was released in 2014. Their second album, Pil Shamen (fat elephant), came out in 2016. It was written while Kovari trekked across Europe, after a breakup.

In 2018, Kovari released a third album, Bat Zekunim (youngest daughter), which was produced with the assistance of an ACUM grant.[6] The album was well-received by critics and the media.[7][8] Several music videos were produced for album singles, including "Pasim Tsehubim" (yellow stripes)[9] and "Ayalot" (gazelles).[10]

Film and television

In 2016, Kovari appeared on television for the first time, in the drama series Uri and Ella. She played Zohar, Ella's best friend, who moves in with her and Uri. In one episode, her character sings a duet with Uri.[3]

In 2017, she produced a short student film, "Simona and Eden".

In 2018, Kovari starred in the feature film Red Cow, with Gal Toren and Moran Rosenblatt. She played Beni, a religious 17 year old who lives with her father (Toren) in an illegal settlement, and falls in love with Yael (Rosenblatt). Kovari won the best actress award at the Jerusalem Film Festival.[11] In 2018, she was also in the film Geula, the story of an orthodox widower, whose daughter, Geula, has cancer. Kovari plays the neighbor's daughter, who assists with Geula's care.[12]

References
  1. נטע עמית (January 22, 2019). "יש מרחק מיקרוסקופי בין סיפוק לחיפוש": אביגיל קובארי שרה את האוטוביוגרפיה שלה". Politically Corret (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  2. בן שלו (March 25, 2014). "אביגיל קובארי מתאהבת בכל מה שזז". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  3. "הכירו את אביגיל קובארי – זוהר ב"אורי ואלה"". HOT Magazine (in Hebrew). Archived from the original on March 8, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  4. הדס בשן (January 19, 2017). "‏לא רוצה לשחק את תפקיד הכוסית על הבר". mako (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  5. "Our Story". Facebook. May 8, 2018.
  6. איתמר זהר (April 26, 2018). "שיר השנה - לגברים בלבד". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  7. טל אורן, יאיר בריל (August 29, 2018). "תתחדשו: עשרה אלבומים שכדאי לקנות לראש השנה 2018". Haaretz (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  8. דנית צמית (August 13, 2018). "לשרוף את אמריקה ולהתאהב בפריז: קליפים חדשים". Yedioth Aharonoth (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  9. "קובארי // פסים צהובים, (אורך: 4:26)". YouTube. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  10. "קובארי // איילות (אורך: 4:06)". YouTube. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  11. "פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים 2018 גאה להכריז על הזוכים". פסטיבל הקולנוע ירושלים (in Hebrew). 2018. Retrieved April 23, 2019.
  12. שמוליק דובדבני (December 24, 2018). "ביקורת סרט - "גאולה": מצאנו את השחקן הכי משמעותי בקולנוע הישראלי". Yedioth Aharonoth (in Hebrew). Retrieved April 23, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.