The view of the world from within the thick timber is very different than the view from the top of that mountain. Theres deep fear. Neulinger approached his mother, telling her about the secret club that was doing bad things. 24-year-old Sasha Joseph Neulinger was sexually abused by two uncles and a cousin as a child. Viewers who think they understand things at this point will likely be very wrong, as many of this storys characters were similarly abused. It was at that moment that I finally realized what my abusers were doing was wrong, he said. After scoring very high marks on his standardized tests after Kindergarten, Sasha began displaying frequent withdrawal episodes. However, the 30-year-old also knew confronting his demons was a necessary step toward healing. Not everyone responds to trauma in the same way. I figured that maybe thered be some answers in some of my old childhood home video, Neulinger said Wednesday. Donations for the films development and production can still be made at rewindtofastforward.com. I had a really awesome job with a company that was working on National Geographic television. Rewind: Directed by Sasha Joseph Neulinger. Child sexual abuse is one of the greatest social epidemics of our time, according to Neulinger, who last week debuted an autobiographical documentary film at the Tribeca Film Festival. But by sharing his story with the world, he is working to empower survivors to look inward and recognize their strength. But there has to be some separation, right? But when I watch myself as a kid objectively as an adult, he continued, I see that my abusers didnt take that beauty away from me, even though I was experiencing pain, even though I was limited by self-doubt and self-deprecating thoughts. The case made headlines as it was found that his uncle, Howard Nevison, one of his abusers (Neulinger and family have changed their names), was a well-known cantor at a synagogue in New Yorks Upper East Side. In many facets of his life, Sasha was thriving. After Sasha Joseph Neulinger finished film school at Montana State University, he discovered the raw materials that would propel him to tell the extraordinary story of his life. All Rights Reserved. He was present when interacting with others; he was gifted and joyful. After finishing film school at Montana State University, he discovered the raw materials that. Free Sign Up. One very intense sequence adds an ominous layer to the score that feels a tad too heavy, but this is essentially the only bit that overly accentuates an implicit idea emotionally. One of Sasha's alleged abusers was his uncle, Howard Nevison, the esteemed cantor at New York's Reform Jewish Temple Emanu-el. Jacqui soon realized what was happening and it destroyed her marriage. While introducing these characters, Rewind spends time with Neulinger and his now-divorced parents, discussing his youthful transformation from a bright, intellectual kid to a troubled adolescent who lashed out unpredictably and often spoke about killing himself. Sasha's parents dropped everything to support him. The case made headlines as it was found that his uncle, Howard Nevison, one of his abusers (Neulinger and family have changed their names), was a well-known cantor . Henrys older brothers one of whom, Howard Nevison would go on to become a renowned opera singer and well-respected cantor at a high-profile synagogue became abusers; and abuse breeds more abuse. The more we learn, the more sinister those happy home movies look. For more visit www.joelschoontanisart.com. Working closely with other organizations, he aims to correct many of the issues inherent in abuse investigations. An intensely personal project six years in the making, featuring first-hand interviews with Neulingers family, and the law enforcement and mental health professionals on the front lines of subsequent legal battles. Shortly after graduating college in 2013, Sasha asked his dad to send him all of the home videos that had been filmed during his childhood. It was traumatizing, and tiring, he said. "If I had gotten the help that I should have had, and I realized and someone explained to me that both of my brothers were sick and could do this again, they wouldn't have been seen within miles of you ever," said Sasha's father Henry Neulinger. The harrowing and courageous documentary, "Rewind," marks the directorial debut of Henry's first child, Sasha Joseph Neulinger, who took the name of his maternal great-grandfather as a way of severing any lingering connection to his abusers. There was already a lot to balance for me, directing and being a subject. Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations. Whats more difficult is following exactly how things played out in the legal system. Because they had been overshadowed by the trauma. As Neulinger follows chains of trauma and abuse through his family tree, its easy to digest how innocent people paid the price. 7.9 /10. Neulinger still struggles with how the venerated synagogue unquestioningly rallied to Nevisons defense and literally paid for much of it. Henry never told his wife that they were bringing child abusers into their home. He realized that this tug-of-war that was happening inside of him was an indication of lingering, unhealed wounds and unanswered questions from his childhood. Sasha Joseph Neulinger in 2014. I struggled with what public disclosure would do for me. So theres like one grocery store and not a lot of people.. Unflinching and uncompromising, Rewind is a documentary that isn't afraid to dive deep into the issues of abuse and trauma that it explores across its relatively brief 80 minute runtime as documentarian and main subject Sasha Neulinger delves into his own childhood and his families horrific experiences that spanned generations. But I did choose how I responded to it: how it would contribute to the shaping of who I am today. Digging through the vast collection of his father's home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations.Digging through the vast collection of his father's home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations.Digging through the vast collection of his father's home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations. When, at the age of 10, Neulinger told his father he wanted to drop the family name (Nevison), his father accepted and supported his sons decision. Montana was also as far away from Ground Zero as I could get. It is a human issue. The filmmaker behind the PBS film "Rewind" speaks about his personal journey to expose and understand his childhood, where he was the survivor of sexual abus. Link to Sasha's video documentary "Rewind to Fast Forward": https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/sashaneulinger/rewind-to-fast-forward, 76ers' Joel Embiid ruled out for Game 1 vs. Celtics, Drivers ticketed for leaving cars in path of street sweepers, ESPN: Harper to return to lineup 159 days after Tommy John surgery. "You were trying to jump out of a moving car. In rewatching my childhood, he said, I got to see the kid that I was before abuse. Amazon.com: Rewind : Sasha Joseph Neulinger, Avela Grenier, Shasta Grenier, Robert Schneeweis, Thomas Winston: Prime Video Home Free with ads Rewind Digging through the vast collection of his father's home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations. So it was really that move, and to be able to have space from what happened, that was equally as important as the incredible therapeutic service I received from Dr. Lustig. And Temple Emanuels position was not peculiar to Temple Emanuel. reveal to Sasha their side of the situation. I had to acknowledge and own the story, embrace my childhood self and by extension, embrace who I am now. Be more independent. His mom asked his sister to draw pictures. Camp Hell as Jimmy; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Charlie Monaghan (1 episode, 2005) When Zachary Beaver Came to Town (2003) as Zachary Beaver; But Neulinger says that his eldest uncle, Howard Nevison, was the most brutal of his abusers and Neulinger's father alleges that Howard also molested him and Lawrence when they were. That was a big part of my motivation.. Sasha Joseph Neulinger is the co-founder and head of production at Step 1 Films. My husband disappeared into this lens.. Film-maker Sasha Joseph Neulinger rolls back the clock and reveals the truth of what happened to him. I would watch moments from my childhood beautiful moments, gorgeous, joyful moments that I had completely forgotten about. Let us know how we can support the important work you are doing. As is so depressingly often the case, it was part of a family tradition, since Henry spent his childhood being sexually assaulted by both Larry (who was apparently trying, in his own warped way, to express love) and Howard (who was primarily interested in asserting vicious domination over his siblings). He has created a documentary in the hopes it will inspire other victims to come forward. But in its intimate depiction of perseverance and fearlessness, it conveys an unforgettable sense of all thats stolen when children are abusedas well as the heroic bravery, compassion and togetherness required to combat such cruelty. And in rewatching my childhood memories and moments, I got to realize something I couldnt possibly understand as a child who felt dirty, disgusting, unlovable, and that is that I never lost what made me beautiful. Its been a real journey for me as a survivor, but also as a human being, Neulinger told a packed ballroom at the Spring Lake Country Club on Friday afternoon during a fundraiser for Hollands Ed and Nancy Hanenburg Childrens Advocacy Center. Sasha Joseph Neulinger, 24, is producing a documentary about child sexual abuse called Rewind to Fast-Forward, that describes his personal experience with sexual abuse and hopes to spread the. Davis: Betty Gilpin Talks Playing An A.I. Rate. Taking a deep breath before putting fingers to keyboard to write this article, pondering. But his fathers camera, trained on the frequent gatherings of a tight-knit family, was also documenting a hidden secret, the revelation of which would lead to a media firestorm, a high-stakes court battle, and a generational reckoning. Neulinger talked with The Inquirer about his film, seven years in the making, about seeing his parents with new eyes, and about the Flyers. My little sister didnt deserve to be hurt like that. Sasha speaks about his trauma as a child and how he learned to love himself again by transforming his pain into good. Sasha and REWIND can be a part of your next event. I want people to recognize that child abuse does exist, she said, that they should never question reporting what might be child abuse because theyre concerned about the adult and what could happen to that adult if a report is false. Filmography. But, like so much else in life, it came about organically as he began sorting through his fathers old videos in an effort to cobble together a cohesive whole from the chaotic threads of his childhood. Neulingers father is one of the more remarkable figures in this film. You just kept threatening to kill yourself," said Jacqui Neulinger. He chose the name Neulinger in honor of his maternal great-grandfather, Joseph, who heroically risked his own life to lead his family through treacherous terrain to escape the Nazis and make it to America. "The moment that I was abused for the first time, I was severed from myself," said Sasha Joseph Neulinger. But the Philadelphia Flyers are with me every single day of my life in Montana. YOUR RATING. I only lost the ability to accept that I was beautiful, to see that I was worth something. I got through six of them and discovered that with each question I answered, I had three more questions, and thats why I decided to interview my mom, dad, sister and others who were part of my life at the time, he said. I was unwilling to make my entire young life about prosecution. Rewind, is simply an astounding movie and a milestone in psychiatrically minded filmmaking. 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He told his parents about the abuse and learned his uncles had also abused his dad and their brother. Jacqui and Henrys son, Sasha was always an extremely engaging child. Sasha Joseph Neulinger with his sister Bekah around the age that the sexual abuse started. God on Psychedelics? He began to see a psychiatrist, and eventually revealed his deep, dark secrets. Thank you! As a child, Sasha was sexually abused between the ages of 4 and 8 by two uncles and a cousin. Watching the home videos incorporated with the film which also features interviews with his psychiatrist, the prosecutor and detective on his case, his parents as well as others gave him an opportunity to revisit his childhood and a chance to look at how his past affected him and how it has shaped him as an adult, he said. Play trailer 2:17. But like most young victims, he told no one. I had gotten through it. As a child, Sasha Joseph Neulinger was gifted but deeply troubled. He jumped out of a moving car in an attempt to kill himself. Both Howard and Larry were fixtures at Henry and Jacquis homeas was Larrys second son, Stewart, who came to live there after being discharged from the Air Force. Having premiered at last years Tribeca Film Festival, and set for an on-demand release on May 8, Rewind is Neulingers autobiographical tale of tragedy and triumphand one that cant be discussed in any detail without spoiling some of its surprises., His saga begins in suburban Pennsylvania in the 1990s, with happily married Henry and Jacqui Nevison, infant Sasha, and a video camera, which would soon come between the adult couple. Therapy followed, and educed the source of Neulingers torment: he was a victim of monstrous abuse at the hands of Stewart, Larry and Howard (the last of whom was the most violent), who were doing likewise to Bekah. Sasha, it turns out, did just that, first to his therapist, whom he confided in via crayon drawings that are almost too unbearable to take, and then in a courtroom where he persuasively testified that Howard had sadistically violated him. I love the outdoors, nature and hiking. With one foot in front of the other, and with each step taken, more of the path is revealed. In juxtaposing my childhood to the childhood of my abusers, who were also abused, he said, we can see what help for a child actually means in terms of their overall health, but we can still look at my case and say thats not good enough we need child advocacy centers, we need to erase the stigma and the shame, there needs to be more support for adult survivors.. I felt safe, supported, and felt free to express myself. Neither Neulinger nor his family saw these as roadblocks, although his sister (admittedly for different reasons) couldnt understand why he needed to make the film and relive the atrocities, especially after having been through so much already. My kids that we plan to have one day are going to be die-hard Flyers fans. This interview has been edited and condensed. The final message is that children can heal from abuse, but only if its recognized and they can talk about it, and as adults, we need to help them let go of this secret and give them the support they need so they can heal.. Its not that I didnt get love, its that I didnt feel lovable, Sasha concedes. Sasha's mom watched her son become severely depressed and suicidal. 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He knew that in order to truly move forward with his life, hed have to revisit his past, search for the source of his cognitive disconnect, and confront his demons head on. I play hockey here in Montana. Henrys home movies show a kindergarten-age Sasha as playful and family-oriented; a year later, the boy has put on substantial weight, frowns constantly and erupts in hard-to-process dark emotions. Producers: Robert Schneeweis, Sasha Joseph Neulinger, Avela Grenier, Shasta Grenier Winston The comedy was a coping mechanism, as Henry now explains: His own childhood was an emotional minefield that can barely be sketched out here. And as the film progresses, the more we similarly notice the carefully concealed agony being endured, and villainy being perpetrated, off-screenspied in a childs sorrowful eyes, inappropriately sexualized dance, and frantic outburst, or in a grown mans hair-ruffling gesture or toothy grin. But his fathers camera, trained on the frequent gatherings of a tight-knit family, was also documenting a hidden secret, the revelation of which would lead to a media firestorm, a high-stakes court battle, and a generational reckoning. 326 talking about this. Yet the more Neulinger crawls back into his thorny past, the more it becomes apparent that his victimizationas well as Bekahswas not an isolated incident. Sasha Joseph Neulinger's heroic and devastating autobiographical documentary opens with questions familiar to many people: Why are home movies always so haunting? My sister drew pictures that no 4-year-old child should know how to draw, he said. After premiering at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival to critical acclaim, Rewind, a documentary about surviving abuse both by family members and the justice system that required that he relive the trauma for years afterward, makes its television debut on Monday on PBS Independent Lens.