Rewind

Home videos usually capture happy memories. For him, they captured something darker — abuse happening while everyone acted like everything was fine.

Trailer for “Rewind”

You Can’t Make This Sh!t Up

• One of Sasha’s abusers (his uncle Howard Nevison) was a respected cantor at Temple Emanu-El in NYC. It was one of the most prominent synagogues in the U.S. He was charged with sexually abusing Sasha while still performing religious services.
• The same family members who filmed birthday parties and Disney vacations were using those tapes to groom, manipulate, and exchange child pornography in the family.

More Highlights from the Doc

• Sasha narrates the entire story himself, starting from toddler home videos to teenage interviews with police and therapists.
• We hear firsthand from Sasha’s mom, Jacqui, and dad, Henry—who wrestle with guilt, shame, and disbelief about what they missed.
• Three of Sasha’s relatives were criminally charged. One pled guilty and got 20–40 years in prison. All were men the family had trusted for decades.
• Sasha was maybe 7 or 8 when he first told a school counselor about the abuse. His parents initially didn’t believe him.
• The doc doesn’t rely on reenactments—just real footage. Sasha literally edits together his life story using old home movies, court footage, and police evidence.
• The extended family’s silence, denial, and decades of cover-ups become a central focus—especially when Sasha tries to reconnect with those who still refuse to acknowledge what happened.

Cameos – Lesser-Known Details from the Doc

• Sasha’s dad was a filmmaker—he had logged over 200 hours of camcorder footage, never knowing it would later become key forensic evidence in the investigation.
• One of the family’s home videos (a birthday party) was time-stamped and matched to one of the known abuse incidents—turning a casual recording into a criminal clue.
• The doc includes phone calls with Sasha’s relatives—some of whom still try to justify or minimize what happened.
• Sasha’s therapist talks candidly about how the sessions helped her grow, too—and how unusual it is to have a client want to share their full story this publicly.

Watch “Rewind”

You can watch “Rewind” on Prime, AppleTV, Hulu, Kanopy, and Hoopla.

Ratings:

• My Rating: 96/100
• IMDB Rating: 7.9/10
• Rotten Tomatoes Ratings: 94/100 (Users); 100/100 (Critics)

Director’s Note

Sasha Joseph Neulinger is the director and the subject of this 86-minute documentary. This is his story, told through his eyes. His decision to use family footage not just as evidence, but as the narrative spine of the doc, makes this one of the most intimate true crime films ever made.

Release Date: 2019

Wrap Up

“Rewind” is not easy to watch. But it might be the most important documentary I’ve seen about child abuse inside families. Sasha tells his story one frame at a time.

Thanks for reading!

Heather Fenty, Guest Writer, Daily Doc