 In 1964 he was expelled from the party because of "differences regarding the party line", and from then on he concentrated on his writing career.Semprún wrote many novels, plays, and screenplays, for which he received several nominations, including an Academy Award in 1970, and awards, including the 1997 Jerusalem Prize.He was a screenwriter for two successive films by the Greek director Costa-Gavras, dealing with the theme of persecution by governments, "Z" (1969) and "The Confession" (1970).