Surviving Malka Leifer review: a compelling tale of horror and bravery

The Malka Leifer story is so big and sprawling it’s hard to know where to begin.

Maybe with the ultra-Orthodox Adass Jewish community in Melbourne, so tight-knit that almost all the 300 families that belong to it live within four city blocks in East St Kilda? With the school where as principal Malka Liefer repeatedly abused her students and teachers? With the hunt for Leifer, who went on the run and spent over a decade hiding out halfway around the world? With the trial where she finally faced justice and her accusers?

Surviving Malka Leifer starts with the victims. As Leifer’s trial begins, sisters Dassi Erlich, Nicole Meyer and Elly Sapper move into a hotel near the Melbourne court where they’ll be giving evidence. As victims of Leifer, they have to repeatedly go over the details of what was done to them in order to testify; as grown women with families of their own, they’re constantly being drawn back to relive their childhood trauma.

Director Adam Kamien keeps the focus on them throughout. Interviews with the sisters together and separately, plus their extensive video diaries (this documentary was filmed over a five year period), enable him to provide their side of the story right the way through. The result is an unflinching focus on the toll their struggle took on them; it’s a deeply personal story that at times is hard to bear.

Surviving Malka Leifer: startling facts

One of the more startling facts is how the abuse began well before the sisters went to high school. At home they were beaten, starved and emotionally abused by their parents: ‘fear and hunger’ is how one sister describes the overwhelming emotions of her childhood. Using a doll house – and at times, a giant spider – to visualise this period in their lives, it’s confronting viewing even if you’re familiar with the details of the case.

In the Adass community, boys and girls are basically segregated, with the girls groomed for a future as someone’s wife. Teaching literary and numeracy to girls is kept to government minimums; most of the education they receive at school is religious, with the girls given extra days off to help at home around religious holidays.

‘School was a haven for us, in comparison to our home life,’ says one sister; Liefer, with the eye to vulnerability that many predators have, took advantage of what they were going through. A small amount of attention and care was all it took to win the girls over.

In 2008, Dassi’s claims of sexual abuse were brought to a teacher. As part of the Adass approach of keeping things ‘in-house’, the school board didn’t go to the police. Instead, they confronted Liefer, who denied the claims. Later that day, the wife of a school board member helped Liefer flee to Israel.

Surviving Malka Leifer: compelling

The bulk of this compelling documentary balances two themes: the experiences of those who suffered relentless abuse at Liefer’s hands, and the legal journey that eventually brought her to justice – a long, torturous journey often obstructed by powerful figures that at times seemed designed to increase the torment of her victims.

Over the course of a decade, the sisters gave statements to Victoria Police, who then applied to have Liefer extradited back to Australia. Claiming mental illness, she was instead placed under house arrest in Israel. She repeatedly appealed against medical experts who found her illness was faked, then was exposed walking freely about her ultra-Orthodox community.

There’s a lot to get angry about in this side of the story. Liefer’s almost endless attempts to drag things out are infuriating; the reveal of various powerful people and organisations role in protecting her both here and in Israel doesn’t exactly settle the blood either.

When she was eventually brought back to Victoria for trial – in large part because the sisters went public with a campaign to expose what was going on and the lack of progress legally – the pressure only increased on the trio. There’s strength between them (and with one of their brothers) and the bond they share clearly helped them get through things, but the cost of their fight was high.

The sisters had to give their evidence separately, without each other’s support. In the courtroom, Liefer’s lawyers suggested the sisters had tainted their evidence by colluding – and that it was possible the activities involved had been consensual. Some of Nicole’s evidence was ruled inadmissible, and Liefer was found not guilty on the charges relating to her – a result that Nicole found difficult to deal with.

Surviving Malka Leifer: bravery

The sisters’ bravery is undeniable throughout this documentary. At times, their strength is the only thing that makes this story bearable; the extent of Liefer’s abuse is often shocking, the damage done heartbreaking. The positive is that despite it all, the trio stood up to power, demanded justice, and achieved it.

Liefer was sentenced to 15 years, with a non-parole period of 11-and-a-half years. The story of how that result was achieved is a gripping look at three women’s courage in the wake of almost unimaginable horror.

Surviving Malka Leifer premieres on Stan on 5 October 2025.

Discover more screen, games & arts news and reviews on ScreenHub and ArtsHub. Sign up for our free ArtsHub and ScreenHub newsletters.