JIFF: Surviving Malka Leifer

Surviving Malka Leifer

NSW Premiere

In 2008, allegations surface in Melbourne that three Ultra-Orthodox sisters, Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper, were abused by their headmistress Malka Leifer. Instead of facing justice, Leifer quietly escaped with the help of the school board, boarding a plane to Israel in the dead of night.

So began a relentless 15-year battle to bring her back to Australia. Along the way, the sisters were forced to navigate a web of secrecy, legal manoeuvring and political corruption. And when Leifer finally returned to stand trial, they were left to reckon with the personal cost of their fight.

Director Adam Kamien (The Speedway Murders) chronicles the three sisters’ decade-long, cross-border battle to bring their abuser to justice, exposing legal loopholes, and a culture of silence along the way in this harrowing abuse scandal of Melbourne’s inner south-east in this Stan Original film.

Select sessions will be followed by a panel discussion with the filmmakers and sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper.

Rating

Unclassified 18+

Duration

95 min

Country

Australia

Language

English, Hebrew (with English subtitles)

Cast

Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer, Elly Sapper, Ted Baillieu, Malcolm Turnbull

Director

Adam Kamien