Eliran Malka Reveals How He Created Hit Israeli Series 'Shababnikim' After Years of Rejection
Eliran Malka, creator of the Israeli TV series "Shababnikim" and director of the film "The Unofficials," shared in a podcast interview how years of persistence and belief helped him break new ground in portraying ultra-Orthodox society on Israeli television. Malka, who initially pursued music and only turned to filmmaking in his mid-20s after becoming a father, studied cinema at Ma'aleh School in Jerusalem and committed himself to writing daily despite repeated rejections from broadcasters and film funds over six years.
The idea for "Shababnikim" emerged after Malka moved from Nahariya to Jerusalem and encountered a different ultra-Orthodox youth culture than the one portrayed in the media, yeshiva students frequenting cafes, gyms, and shopping centers. He sought to tell the story of these young men living between the yeshiva and the city streets, basing the series on extensive research and personal meetings with dozens of yeshiva students. After many unanswered emails, Malka personally delivered the series proposal to producer Danny Paran, who immediately saw potential and agreed to produce it. However, the series faced further delays until HOT's drama manager, Mirit Tubi, finally greenlit the project.
Alongside "Shababnikim," Malka wrote "The Unofficials," a film about Yaakov Cohen, a forgotten founder of the Shas party, which premiered at the Jerusalem Film Festival and was praised for its meticulous period production set in 1983. Malka has now lived with the characters of "Shababnikim" for 16 years, evolving their stories with each season rather than repeating past successes.
Currently, Malka is developing a spin-off series set in 1803 about Shlomi Zaks, the matchmaker character from "Shababnikim," which will explore a Jewish town in a different era, requiring extensive historical research and complex period production. He emphasized the importance of dedication in filmmaking, advising, "Whatever you do, do it to the end. In cinema, there is no other way."
