Film and televisionאפרים סבלה

Efraim Sevela

Efraim Sevela was a Soviet-born Jewish writer, screenwriter and film director who lived in Israel, the United States and Russia.

1928 to 2010Legends from Invalid StreetThe 1971 Supreme Soviet sit-inDirecting The Parrot Speaking Yiddish

Born: 8 March 1928, Babruysk
Died: 18 August 2010, Moscow
Occupation: film director, screenwriter, journalist, writer
Education: Belarusian State University
Wars: Eastern Front

Efraim Sevela was born in 1928 in Babruysk

Efraim Sevela was born Efim Drabkin in 1928 in Babruysk, to a Jewish family of officers. When World War 2 began, his family fled Belarus, but he fell from the train during a bombing. He wandered until 1943, when he joined a Red Army unit and reached Germany with it.

After the war he finished school and studied at the Belarusian State University. He then worked as a journalist and wrote scripts for Soviet films.

In 1971 he took part in occupying an office of the Supreme Soviet in Moscow to demand that Jews be allowed to leave for Israel. After a trial of the group, he was expelled to Israel. There he published books in Russian and, by his own account, fought and was wounded in the Yom Kippur War.

In 1977 he moved to the United States and worked in cities such as London, Paris and West Berlin. His 1977 book Stop the Plane, I'll Get Off criticized Israel's absorption of immigrants and its bureaucracy.

In 1990 he returned to Moscow and directed films from his own scripts. He died in Moscow in 2010 and was buried at the Mitinsky cemetery.

Efraim Sevela's life in 8 milestones

1928
Born in Babruysk.
1943
Joined a Red Army unit fighting at the front.
1957
Wrote the script for the film Our Neighbors.
1971
Took part in the Supreme Soviet sit-in and was expelled to Israel.
1977
Left Israel for the United States.
1990
Returned to the USSR and directed The Parrot Speaking Yiddish.
1992
Directed Noah's Ark and Chopin's Nocturne.
2010
Died in Moscow.

Efraim Sevela served in the military

From 1943 he fought with a Red Army unit up to Germany and received the Medal For Courage. By his own account, he fought and was wounded in the Yom Kippur War.