I did not choose my trauma, nor have I chosen to be defined by it. He was too ashamed to. Sasha Joseph Neulinger (left) and his father Henry Nevison looking through old home movie footage. It is a family awash in intergenerational predatory behavior. Davis: Betty Gilpin Talks Playing An A.I. I was 8 years old at the time of disclosure, Neulinger said. I love it here. Shortly before Sasha turned 17, Howard's attorneys ran out of delays, and discussions of a plea agreement commenced. Viewers who think they understand things at this point will likely be very wrong, as many of this storys characters were similarly abused. 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. Leacock-Pennebaker. An emotional conversation with his father reveals a tragic side of paternal humanity. There arent enough synonyms for the word courage to do Sasha Joseph Neulingers story real justice. I got to watch the four years of my life from 4 to 8 where I was holding this painful secret and I got to watch myself grow up. Director: Sasha Joseph Neulinger A memoir of molestation whose convoluted structure mirrors the shocking web of abuse its protagonists suffered, Sasha Joseph Neulinger's Rewind allows viewers to watch as . Before the filmmaker spells things out, he uses videos of backyard cookouts and innocent gatherings to introduce members of a gregarious extended family, in which Henry, when not holding the camera, was usually mugging for it alongside one of his brothers. From the get-go, Sasha Joseph Neulinger knew hed face turbulent waters in creating Rewind (May 11 on PBS). What I am hoping to do is really talk about how we can help children so they don't grow up angry and disconnected, and subconsciously willing to repeat the cycle," said Sasha. Prior to the #Metoo movement, the cultural climate was not predisposed to believe a child accuser and was, in fact, hostile toward him, Neulinger said. 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. is a brave and wrenching look at his childhood and his journey to reconcile his past. And I spent 13 years in therapy with Dr. [Herbert] Lustig, and thats what it took, you know, to get to this place where I felt like I could share this story. 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). It was as he was graduating from Montana State Universitys film school that Neulinger began to realize that despite years of therapy, the trauma of his childhood wasnt done with him. Is Director Ari Aster a Madman or a Genius? Help bring programs like Independent Lens to your PBS station. Rewind To Fast-Forward - Bozeman Magazine Now, as executive director of Mission Kids, she works to make sure that isnt peoples first reactions. His case spurred a larger movement in child advocacy, including the creation of Mission Kids Child Advocacy Center in East Norriton with the help of then-district attorney Risa Ferman and Abbie Newman. Lawrence Nevison, 55, who is Howard Nevison's brother and also an uncle of the boy, and Lawrence Nevison's son,. 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. I was unwilling to make my entire young life about prosecution. In rewatching my childhood, he said, I got to see the kid that I was before abuse. As a young boy, hed walk down the stairs holding hands with a relative who was his rapist, before their mother would give this person a hug, and then offer them supper. He allowed me to take ownership of the story. Explaining this change is present-day footage in which Sasha interviews others, leaning largely on conversations with his mother, Jacqui. Sasha speaks about his trauma as a child and how he learned to love himself again by transforming his pain into good. My last day in court was the day before my 17th birthday, and a year later, I moved as far away as I could, to Montana. In this present moment of intense national (and global) stress, theres nothing quite as cathartic as a simultaneously wrenching and heartening cry. Sasha Joseph Neulinger. Production companies: Step 1 Films, Grizzly Creek Films 2017 Children's Advocacy Center. Film-maker Sasha Joseph Neulinger rolls back the clock and reveals the truth of what happened to him. People will make up excuses in their own minds because its easier to say, Oh hes just eccentric, hes quirky, hes not really touching inappropriately. The clip in the film where Howard is using the word pervert in a joking way, thats not a very that makes people uncomfortable but people are willing to overlook it and I think that happens all the time.. Notable people and events in the Jewish LA community. With one foot in front of the other, and with each step taken, more of the path is revealed. Stewart asked for a plea deal and served 11 months in prison. Bodies at crematory could exceed 300 - Tampa Bay Times YOUR RATING. Sasha Joseph Neulinger is the co-founder and head of production at Step 1 Films. When a child is experiencing that level of trauma, its hard to retain beautiful moments. Relatives and other interested parties (detectives, doctors, attorneys, etc.) But the most tragic thing is that all this sexual trauma goes much deeper than what happened to Sasha. Parallel to interviews with city officials who reconstruct an infuriating case of justice denied, the film offers another conversation. Free Sign Up. And in seeing that, its been beautiful to reconnect with the part of myself that for so long I thought made me less than the quote-unquote victim.. Watching the footage answered many of his questions while sparking a whole list of new ones. "It was a triumphant moment." The legal minds who helped prosecute Neulinger's case reached out to him to set up a Children's Advocacy Center in his home county. [A-]. 'Rewind' Review - The Hollywood Reporter An autobiographical film years in the making, Rewind premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival where it received a special jury mention. 'I Trusted Them': The Pain of Sexual Abuse 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. Sasha doesnt blame his father; there is no disdain remaining, only raw empathy. In HBO's "The Tale," Narberth's Jennifer Fox turns to fiction to tell her own true, tough story, California residents do not sell my data request. Love your neighbors and watch your beard. Im really not interested in acting anymore. Well, I started therapy before I ever disclosed what was happening. At a fundraiser called Montana Meets Pennsylvania at International House Philadelphia on Sept. 24, Neulinger who grew up in Lower Merion and now lives in Bozeman, Montana showed a gathering of people who were participating in a silent auction as well as munching on hors doeuvres clips from the assembly edits of the film. It was like a fairy tale, is how Jacqui describes the foursomes initial years together. Then something happened. Sasha Neulinger's documentary is as affecting as they come, both for its portrait of unthinkable horrors perpetrated against the weak and defenseless, and for its optimism that healinghowever. If nothing else, I felt the film might help someone else. Larry, on the other hand, comes across in old clips as a performance-happy clown, affecting funny accents and playing to the camera. It was about justice.. Independent Lens: Rewind. Thus Rewind, was spawned, a seven-year project that started when Neulinger was still a film student at Montana State University. Uncle Howard Nevison, a prominent Manhattan Jewish cantor, used defense attorneys to drag out the legal process, filing multiple motions over many years. 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. The fact that, when things got tough on the stand during Howards pretrial hearing, Neulinger wore Josephs yarmulke only underlines how true love is a force one can lean on, and derive power from, in times of great need. Neulinger approached his mother, telling her about the secret club that was doing bad things. This is not a Jewish, Christian, black, white, gay, straight issue. There are swords [down there] Sasha said. You have entered an incorrect email address! He has been developing his documentary, "Rewind to Fast Forward" from his dad's collection of videos. After all, a celebration was the perfect time to pull out his video camera. Whats worse, Sashas family almost seemed to be normalizing the abuse he and his sister were enduring. But the Philadelphia Flyers are with me every single day of my life in Montana. 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. This isnt a film worried about manipulating feeling in a specific manner, its concern is bringing that sensation back to those who have forgotten how to feel it. Based on current statistics, Sasha found that "1 out of every 3 women, and 1 out of every 5 men were sexually abused as children". All Rights Reserved. Sifting through 700 hours of film footage, including 200 hours of home video, Sasha Neulinger has been rewatching his childhood for the last four years to create a documentary, . 2023 Independent Television Service (ITVS). Tribeca Film Review: 'Rewind' - Variety Rate. Sasha Joseph Neulinger is a husband, hockey player, backcountry adventurer, motivational speaker, and an Emmy Nominated filmmaker - he also happens to be a survivor of multi-generational child sexual abuse: I believe that a person doesnt have to know how they are going to climb their mountain, they just need to know that they are committed to climbing it. READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019. 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. 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. In many facets of his life, Sasha was thriving. I was in constant therapy sessions. I continued to feel dirty, unlovable and responsible for what happened to me. The Filmmaker Sasha Joseph Neulinger is the co-founder and head of production at Step 1 Films. The utter honesty behind these scenes could only be captured in a documentary. In a case that made headlines, another uncle, Howard Nevison, then the cantor at a prominent New York synagogue, denied the charges that hed abused the boy from the ages of 4 to 7, but in a 2006 deal, agreed to plead guilty to misdemeanors and was spared a prison term. The film, which premiered at Tribeca last year and is screening on demand on Friday, May 8 and on PBS' Independent Lens on Monday, May 11, is a wrenching but necessary directorial debut for. It was traumatizing, and tiring, he said. I felt like I couldnt escape my trauma. Interviews with his mother, as the audience saw, included recalling a time where Neulinger tried to jump out of a moving car and dark drawings he had made. Follow along with all our coverage from the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival here. Your Sheep. It was after watching the first six tapes that I realized that this was going to be a film, he said, as for every answer I received about my past, 10 new questions would arise.. In fact, a Reform rabbi spelled it out to Neulinger, asserting the movie would only succeed in hurting Jews. And so I was able to reclaim these beautiful memories that had been lost, which was extremely healing and cathartic. WATCH A SPECIAL CLIP FROM THE DOCUMENTARY HERE. Sexual abuse doesnt discriminate. I love being able to craft an entire story and being able to share that as opposed to just sharing the emotions of a character. I cant imagine a world in which my family was part of the construction of the film. This event occurred on March 27, 2015. 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. 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. Following the director, who was repeatedly sexually abused by his fathers side of the family as a child, Neulinger revisits his dad Henrys home film canisters, reopening old wounds. (Step 1 Films) Ultimately, we learn that Sasha was abused between ages three and seven by his father. 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. You just kept threatening to kill yourself," said Jacqui Neulinger. I felt safe, supported, and felt free to express myself. Courtesy of John Solem. And I think thats really important. Read more AKIRA SUWA by Ellen Gray I got to observe my abusers now more objectively as an adult. It also speaks to the silence, often self-imposed by victims themselves, that allows such heinousness to continueat least, that is, until someone stands up and says enough. For more information on volunteering or donating to the Ed and Nancy Hanenburg Childrens Advocacy Center, call 616-393-6123, visitcac-ottawa.org/prevention, All artwork by Joel Tanis is from the walls of the CAC. My dad is an incredibly gifted filmmaker and the big inspiration in my life. After scoring very high marks on his standardized tests after Kindergarten, Sasha began displaying frequent withdrawal episodes.

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