Levana Finkelstein - Actress and Sculptress

 

 

Levana Finkelstein, an outstanding and award-winning actress, and an award-winning sculptress was born in Bulgaria and lives in Israel and the U.S. Levana Finkelstein studied acting at the Beit Tzvi School of Drama in Israel as well as at the H.B. Studio in New York City, with the legendary acting teacher Ms. Uta Hagen.

In New York, Herbert Berghof (Uta Hagen’s husband) chose her to star in several productions at the H.B. Playwrite Theatre, including Poor Murderer and Donna Rosita, among others.

In Israel, Finkelstein is a major star in Film, Television and Theatre productions. Finkelstein is also a member of the Film and Television Academy. She has won many highly coveted awards, the most recent of which are is The Israel Film Academy Best Supporting Actress, the Best Actress Award at the International Jerusalem Film Festival for her starring role as the Mother in the Film “Mother V”, which has been screened and has gained acclaim at numerous prestigious Film Festivals around the world including the Venice Film Festival.

Finkelstein started her Theatre career in 1967 and since then she continues to capture audiences in Israel and the entire world with her superb performances. Between Theatre performances she also continues to capture audiences with breathtaking performances in Film and on Television and working with the best directors. Additionally, she has also produced as well as directed several theatre productions.

Levana's resume is a list of Levana Finkelstein’s extraordinary body of work as an actress.

 

Levana's sculpting career started with a phone conversation some years ago with one of Israel's most prominent screenwriter.  He told her about a script he was writing and that he was thinking of her for the main role.. When Finkelstein asked him about the character he told her that the character was a “sculptress”. Finkelstein immediately started trying to work with clay to get a grasp on the feel of  matter and discovered that she enjoyed it. The material got a grasp on her. Since then she has taken a University courses in sculpting, and then started sculpting at her own studio in Bulgaria. Finkelstein sculpts in clay and

    

casts her works in bronze. Levana is a member of the Israel Profesional Visual Artist Association, the International Art Association and The international Plastic Arts Association. Her amazing work has been exhibited in Israel, New York City and Bulgaria where her sculpture "The Chubby Ballerina" was awarded the Minister of Culture Prize for sculpture at the Gabrovo 17th Biennial of the "House of Humour and Satire" where her sculpture "Cat On Horse" was on display at the 19th Biennial.

A large scale bronze statue called "Friendship" was unveiled on June 7th 2005 and is permanently displayed on the ground of the park museum at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Bulgaria in Sofia. A full size plaster copy of this statue is at the Jewish Museum above the synagogue in Sofia.

At the International Symposium of Wood Sculpting, Finkelstein has just finished working on a large scale wood sculpture called "Time Flies" unveiled on August 1st 2005 and permanently displayed on the ground of the park museum in Yasna Polyana, Bulgaria.

Photos of several of her beautiful sculptures can bee seen on Levana's sculptures samples.

Levana's resume

To contact Levana write to: levanaf@yahoo.com