Life & Work with Oshri Cohen

Today we’d like to introduce you to Oshri Cohen.

Hi Oshri, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I was born and raised in Israel, I am 26 years old and since I was very young, I had a huge passion for music and culture. I started playing piano when I was six years old and I am playing until this very day. Later on, I started to produce music. Music has always been a big part of my life. I studied Media and Communication at High School and I was lucky enough to get my first Radio Show when I was just 16 years old!

I was a one men show, I was the host, producer, and editor. My show was about culture and politics. I always loved politics, so on my show, I really wanted to do both Culture and Politics. The Radio station didn’t really like my idea so we decided together to start with a pilot show. It was so good and I had this show for three years!

I interviewed the highest level people at my Radio show, from the Minister of Justice of Israel, Minister of Defense, Minister of Culture and even Mr. Naftali Bennet who later on became the Prime Minister of Israel. From the Culture side, I had some of the most famous Singers in Israel, Actors, Music Producers and more. I also loved to promote the next generation of the Cultural world and give them the stage they deserved. Some of them today are the biggest superstars in Israel! The combination of these two worlds made my show very interesting, with half of the time dedicated to discussing serious day-to-day issues, and the other half featuring upbeat music, happy news, and fun topics. As the current Chief of Staff at the Consulate General of Israel for the Pacific Southwest, located in the heart of Los Angeles, I am proud to say that I am doing what I do best: connecting politics and culture as someone who belongs to and has experience in these two worlds.

When the Consul General interviewed me for my Job and he heard of my Background, he told me I think I found the right guy to work closely with me the at the special city of Los Angeles, where diplomacy meets culture as the world’s headquarters of entertainment. Since then, in the past 2.5 years that’s what I do, connect the diplomatic world with the cultural world. I will share with you more in the next questions.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
No, not at all. Nothing was really easy. Getting my current job was very hard. It took me almost two years to get this position. There were a lot of people who applied for my job. I had to go through many tests, physiologist exams and interviews. Thanks to my specific knowledge and experience with the global entertainment industry, I was able to get my position. But today, I can say it was all worth the long way. I came here, and I built a very strong connections with the entertainment industry or what people call ‘Hollywood’. Get in touch with the executives in Hollywood is not an easy job at all. You need to be very passionate and focused with them.

Those people are a very sharp people. I have been exploring the entertainment industry of Hollywood over a decade. I always wanted to know who are the people behind the scenes, and that’s what I did when I arrived to Los Angeles. I knew all the names of the most important executives, and not only them but their teams. Which is the most important thing. For example. I think that the most important thing is the ability to make and create a personal connection with those people, so you are not only ‘working’ with them, but you are becoming their friend. That way, you can do and achieve everything with them. It’s all about that. Today I can proudly say that I can call those people my friends. From reading on them on Wikipedia to get to call them friends is something that I am very proud of.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work is very diverse. It involves a variety of different tasks and projects from various industries and worlds. I deal with projects ranging from high-level diplomatic meetings and delegations to Israel and  here in the US to organizing high-level cultural and community events to showcase and promote the best of Israel. For the past 2.5 years, I have worked closely with top Israeli artists and actors and used my personal connections to introduce them to the top executives in Hollywood to promote Israeli arts and make it an international success.

For example, I organized and executive produced an NBA live performance by Israel’s biggest pop star, the Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta Barzilay. Netta is an incredibly talented artist. I was in touch with the Clippers to have a live show at one of their games. We chose one of the NBA games, LA Clippers vs Golden State.

I immediately knew Netta would be the best show for this game, and I was right. She killed it! We actually made history together. She was the first Israeli artist ever to perform at the NBA. Netta’s performance was covered all over the media in Israel and the US. ‘Reebok’ also sponsored the performance with her crazy outfit.

I also organized, along with our amazing culture department, the biggest Israeli-American film summit called ‘Scripted Israel,’ which brought together the most promising filmmakers, producers, and writers of Israel, along with top executives and CEOs to make the next ‘Fauda’ (an Israeli action series in Hebrew). It’s on the top 10 of Netflix worldwide! All I can tell you for now is that the next Fauda is on the way. The Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel arrived to Los Angeles especially for our event. You don’t get to meet the CEO of Netflix, HBO, Apple TV, Sony Studio, and more every day.

As we speak, I am currently organizing and producing Israel’s 75th Independence Day in Los Angeles. It’s going to be a very fancy event with around 2000 attendees. We will have the Mayor of Los Angeles, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills, council members, congressmen, influencers, community leaders, and more in attendance.

We are bringing here one of the most famous singer in Israel Tamir Grinberg to preform live!

Being the Executive Producer of the event is very exiting, but it’s also very scary to take care on this huge event.

It takes so much effort and creativity to make it right and to make sure it will be a night to remember.

I am very proud to do what I always wanted to do, which is to work with the music and film industries in Hollywood. I come from a small beautiful city in Northern Israel, and at 26 years old, I am dealing with some of the most powerful people in the world. I come from the music industry myself as a singer, songwriter, and music producer, and I know what artists need to make it big. That’s what I do best; I use my knowledge and networking to promote Israeli artists with top record labels such as Republic Records, Universal Music Group, Sony Music, and more.

I also think that what sets me apart from others is the fact that I am a foreigner. I don’t accept “no” as an answer.

I will always find a way to achieve my goals and my passions. Thank God, so far, so good! It is so hard, but I enjoy every moment, and I can’t wait for my next step. I really want to be a part of these big industry companies and take my career to the next level. I have a lot to give, and I fully believe it will happen soon.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oshriicohen/

Image Credits
-Oshri Cohen with the Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti -With the Executive Editor of Music at Variety Magazine Shirley Halperin and Jenna Andrews, Grammy nominated songwriter producer at CCFP annual event -With David Renzer, Former chairman and CEO of Universal Music publishing group and CCFP Co-founder. -With the Eurovision winner and superstar Netta Barzilay at the staple center