sasha neulinger uncle howard
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. It was a triumphant moment.. And Temple Emanuels position was not peculiar to Temple Emanuel. In those days, Neulinger had to travel to physicians offices, detective offices, Child Protective Services and various other government buildings, telling his story over and over, dozens of times. 10 p.m. Monday, WHYY12. He was a straight-A student, physically fit, and enjoying his social life. That was a big part of my motivation.. Nevison was released on $100,000 bail after a Wednesday evening court appearance. I got to observe my abusers now more objectively as an adult. What incentive would I have had to go public in order to endlessly defend myself? 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 . The film was Sashas feature-length directorial debut. While some of the clips were joyful, like Sasha as a little boy laughingly taking his baby sisters pacifier from her mouth, others hit you in the gut, like his father walking around his childhood home and coming to terms with the fact that his brothers and abusers also sexually abused his son. At age 4, he said his uncle sexually abused him for the first time. 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.. Sasha said it was because of Bekahs private club with Stuart, one of his Uncle Howards nephews. In rewatching my childhood, he said, I got to see the kid that I was before abuse. Sasha doesnt blame his father; there is no disdain remaining, only raw empathy. 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: Sasha Joseph Neulinger in 2014. 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. But I did choose how I responded to it: how it would contribute to the shaping of who I am today. For the first time in more than fourteen years, he could experience life without abuse being the primary focus of his existence. My dad is an incredibly gifted filmmaker and the big inspiration in my life. His Uncle Larry Nevison was sentenced to 14-22 years in prison, and served 11 years. (Step 1 Films) Ultimately, we learn that Sasha was abused between ages three and seven by his father. I was constantly being asked to talk to police. "The only way I could understand or see myself is. It was traumatizing, and tiring, he said. reframes the perspective on traumatic events from Sashas childhood, this time placing him in control of the camera, firmly at the helm of his own narrative. Hes a genuine profile in courage, finding the strength to do whats right for himself, and his beloved sibling, not only from within, but from those family members who truly cared about himnone greater than his maternal great-grandfather Joseph, who learns, in the films tear-inducing centerpiece, that young Sasha is casting aside his painful past by taking Josephs surname as his own. Documentary Biography Drama. 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. In a home video provided by his father, a brief moment from hours of taped memories, Sasha says he remembers feeling trapped. Theres no running from place to place, retelling the story dozens of times, like Neulinger had to do. Contact: mstern@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0740. 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,Rewind to Fast-Forward. Neulinger, in "Rewind," is the detective-interviewer excavating his own past, and with his shaved head, shadow of a beard, and polite becalmed millennial manner, he's an earnest and at times. His film about his experiences, "Rewind," which played the Tribeca Film Festival last year, makes its TV debut on PBS' "Independent Lens" on May 11. Editor: Avela Grenier Get to know Maria Morales: CAC Family Advocate, A Conversation with Ashleigh Shea: Forensic Interviewing at the CAC, Giving Hope: The Childrens Advocacy Center. Through embracing my fear and confronting what scared me the most, I rediscovered my beauty and learned to harness my power. For the next four years, he said two uncles and a cousin raped him, often during family gatherings in his own home. Theres deep fear. I was unwilling to make my entire young life about prosecution. Sasha Joseph Neulinger (born 1989) is an American actor and director born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 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. We live in a very rural part of the state. I can recognize that the trauma I experienced is just one piece of an expansive, multifaceted life. There is nothing easy about facing severe trauma, but the reclamation of ones life in the face of adversity makes reaching the summit of that personal mountain that much more meaningful and empowering. 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. All rights reserved. That critique, however, never materializes; instead, Neulingers film casts a wary eye at camcorders as a means of highlighting the deceptiveness of surface appearances. Though difficult to watch, its a film that helps outsiders confront the horrifying ways such events can cause damage for decades after the fact. Im going to live in Montana for the rest of my life. Re-watching his childhood provided Sasha some validation, a reminder that he had nothing to do with what his abusers chose to do to himbut that he had everything to do with the strength and resilience it required to hold his abusers accountable. He now lives in Montana, where he and his wife, Lauren, and their puppy are riding out the coronavirus pandemic in relative isolation. That revelation, unsurprisingly, rocked the family, and it lands with seismic force here as well. Uncle Howard Nevison, a prominent Manhattan Jewish cantor, used defense attorneys to drag out the legal process, filing multiple motions over many years. I was in constant therapy sessions. Given how much Rewind relies, from the get-go, on home movie footage of the clanwhich would soon come to include a daughter, Bekah, whom Sasha fiercely lovedJacquis early comment implies a forthcoming focus on the harmful presence of technology in modern American households. At first, Jacqui and Henry thought it might have something to do with what was going on at school. 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. When Im practicing and I dont have to wear my teams jersey, Im wearing a Flyers jersey. Neulinger talked with The Inquirer about his film, seven years in the making, about seeing his parents with new eyes, and about the Flyers. At some level, I believed I deserved this.. Far more than a mere recitation of personal anguish and abuse, Rewind is a non-fiction reflection of Neulingers processboth then, and again nowof emotionally and psychologically reckoning with memories and experiences hed locked away, far away from prying eyes. He has been developing his documentary, "Rewind to Fast Forward" from his dad's collection of videos. Uncle Howard said to me, If you tell anyone, Ill kill you. And I believed it, he said. Distorting an expression of care with an act of vile dominance can create a black hole of shame for anyone. His mom asked his sister to draw pictures. According to Jacqui, The camera immediately became a wall between Henry and the family. Composer: T. Griffin, Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day. 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. 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. This is incredibly powerful! 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. Clearly, there was more healing to be done; one hopes that making Rewind has helped Sasha and his family close this book. And that led to a series of new questions and really important and cathartic conversations with my mom [Jacqui Neulinger], with my dad, and with the professionals involved in my case. My kids that we plan to have one day are going to be die-hard Flyers fans. 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. I was constantly needing to prepare for different court dates. He never told a soul what happened to him. One day, when his cousin Stewart summoned him to a room in the attic, Neulinger saw his little sister exiting the room, tears rolling down her face. Follow along with all our coverage from the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival here. But I still felt trapped in a secret. With Sasha Joseph Neulinger, Howard Nevison. From the get-go, Sasha Joseph Neulinger knew hed face turbulent waters in creating Rewind (May 11 on PBS). New Book Explores Current Trends, OKelley Legends: 2e Behind the Scenes Is a Gift, Israeli Whisky Is Now the Best Single Malt Whisky in the World, SWU Marks Yom Hashoah, OU Announces New Board, Greenblatt Joins JCPA, A Bisl Torah The Power of Being Yourself, Your Beard. Streaming on Hulu, nominated for three Emmy Awards. "After 13 years of fighting to get my life back, the war was finally over," he said. Through a subtle editorial structure, Neulinger delivers this bombshell in bits and pieces in a manner akin to its original emergence with his doctor. 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. 24-year-old Sasha Joseph Neulinger was sexually abused by two uncles and a cousin as a child. The Montco-raised child actor and director was sexually abused as a child by two uncles and a cousin. Taking a deep breath before putting fingers to keyboard to write this article, pondering. They provide a fun and friendly environment that shows visually the care that we provide for each child. Rewind doesnt know where this inherited cruelty and mistreatment originally beganalthough Henry suspects he didnt turn out like his brothers because he was primarily raised by his father, versus his severe mothernor does it have a magic solution to ending it, despite Neulingers current efforts to create new legal protocols that spare assault victims from a system of endless distressing interviews. Sasha is among the male survivors. At that moment, the world became a dark place and I felt dirty.. Your Sheep. For as long as Neulinger can remember, a video camera was ever-present, with his father constantly filmingfrom birthday parties and hockey games to holidays. "The only way I could understand or see myself is dirty, gross, bad, unloveable," he said. Old home movies, recording happy times, serve as the storys backdrop, presenting a stark contrast to the darker truths that existed behind the scenes and cast a long shadow. All Rights Reserved. He tried to live a normal kid's life but was dying inside. "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. By probing the gap between image and reality, the film depicts both how little and how much a camera can capture. 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; You have entered an incorrect email address! In turn, they told his father, who revealed that he, too, had been sexually abused by both his brothers. Henrys decision to conceal his own ordeal for so long (only confessing it long after Sasha had begun spiraling out of control) undoubtedly contributed to his marriages collapse. There was already a lot to balance for me, directing and being a subject. 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 walked away from the last three trials with my uncle Howard. Shining a brighter light on this side of things would only have strengthened the movies impact. Its therefore no surprise that adult Henry felt most comfortable taking cover behind a video camera, desperate as he subconsciously was to maintain a safe distance between himself and a family that, as history had taught him, was liable to hurt him. She recalled watching Neulingers case unfold on the news, not being able to believe it. 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, . Sasha Neulingers heroic and haunting new documentary Rewind explores how he went from a happy-go-lucky young kid to a tormented one who wanted to end his life. See An INCREDIBLE Snippet HERE! 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. Sasha and REWIND can be a part of your next event. Director Sasha Joseph. His story involves looking at multigenerational abuse and the emotional, clinical and legal facets that go with it. Shortly before Sasha turned 17, Howard's attorneys ran out of delays, and discussions of a plea agreement commenced. This TEDx Talk features Sasha Joseph Neulinger. READ MORE: The 100 Most Anticipated Films Of 2019. Sasha Neulingers 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 arduously attainedis possible. 2023 Independent Television Service (ITVS). 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.. 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. Its a problem within all organized religion, which can become a trap. Sasha said it was because of Bekah's "private club with Stuart," one of his Uncle Howard's nephews. Sasha Joseph Neulinger knows how to tell a story about the sexual abuse of a small boy so that viewers cant turn away even when they most want to. Hes not only an inspiration to me as a filmmaker, but what a brave and courageous choice, not only to hand over the footage to me, but then to allow me to just do what I needed to do.