Florentine regularly visited local cinemas throughout his childhood in Israel, citing Sergio Leone and Bruce Lee as his biggest idols and subsequent film influences. As a young man he completed mandatory service in the Israeli Army for three years before studying Film & Television at Tel Aviv University. He also began teaching Karate in 1978 before opening his first Karate school in 1979, where he would also train regularly, which he continues to this day. While studying at University he completed his first short film, Farewell Terminator (1987), which notably won seven awards at Mograbee Film Festival.

In 1988 he moved to America with his family to pursue a career in film. His first break came from meeting producers Ronnie Hadar and Jonathan Tzachor who invited him to join the production team behind TV series Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers as a stunt coordinator and second unit director. After seeing his first short film, Cannon Films’ Menahem Golan also offered Florentine the chance to direct his first feature film, Desert Kickboxer (1992).