One out of every four girls are sexually abused and one out of every six boys are sexually abused. Film director Sasha Joseph Neulinger spent his childhood in front of his father’s video camera. Delving into 200 hours of home videos, Neulinger tells his story as a survivor of multigenerational sexual abuse.
From his Kickstarter page:
Director Sasha Joseph Neulinger spent his childhood in front of a camera. His father Henry, also a documentary filmmaker, shot over two hundred hours of home video capturing every aspect of Sasha’s young life. But within the footage of birthday parties, family trips, and hockey games, something dark was hidden. ?Sasha revisits his father’s videos and the painful secret of his early years?a secret that would shift the course of his life.?
Between the ages of three and seven, Sasha was sexually abused by two of his uncles and one male cousin. After Sasha came forward and spoke up about the abuse, his father Henry shared a secret of his own. ?Henry’s brothers, the same men who had abused Sasha, had also abused Henry as a boy. ?Sasha spent a decade entangled in the criminal justice system?and struggling to find his identity in the aftermath of his stolen childhood. This autobiographical film will unearth a historical case of multigenerational sexual abuse and by doing so, it will also give intimate and inspiring insight into one survivor’s healing process.?
In his first feature length documentary, Neulinger will share his experience of overcoming child sexual abuse — his journey from victim to survivor — and shed light on what it’s like to be a child sexual abuse victim.
My goal is to shed light on what it is to be a child abuse victim?from the first moment of abuse, through the process of reclaiming and rebalancing life. I want to expose the causes underlying the destructive multigenerational cycle of child abuse in my own family. ?And I hope that as I share my story as a case study, we can have a more open conversation about the importance of an uninterrupted healing process for child victims and reduce the numbers of children who are abused. ?
His film — Rewind to Fast-Forward — features a conversation with experts and organizations about how we as a society can prevent child sexual abuse and work with adult survivors to help them reclaim balance and stability in their lives.
As activist Liberal Americans, we can all help Sasha tell this urgent and important story. Share this article, give money to his Kickstarter campaign if you can, and most importantly, be a part of the conversation.
h/t Upworthy
