Experiencing Interruptions?

Back To One

Rob Koebel is far from his midwest roots in Ann Arbor,MI. He's now in the bright city lights of Hollywood. Some people's lives fall apart in Tinseltown. Rob's comes together as he picks up the pieces of his Emmy Award-winning investigative reporting career destroyed by his losing battle with addiction. He sets out to help others and make right what he did wrong. In the process, his life changes and the dreams he once had as a child start coming true 40 years later. 

  • Rob Koebel
    Director
  • Rob Koebel
    Writer
  • Rob Koebel
    Producer
    Inside The Madness Kentucky Basketball; Seeking Justice: The Hunt for F.B.I.'s Most Wanted Robert Fisher
  • Rob Koebel
    Key Cast
    "Self"
  • Mike Yow
    Key Cast
    "Counselor"
  • Greg Brown
    Key Cast
    "Friend/Co-worker"
  • Andy Dick
    Key Cast
    "Friend/Actor"
  • Greg Hannley
    Key Cast
    "Treatment Center Owner"
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 40 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 29, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    35,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    RED,Go-Pro, iPhone
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Rob Koebel

Rob is an award winning filmmaker and investigative journalist. As the CEO/Founder of Back To One Entertainment he oversees the development of unscripted and scripted content across multiple platforms.

Rob is a powerful voice and strong advocate in the fight against addiction. 
Rob’s own story of redemption landed him in Hollywood, where he’s become a successful producer, actor, and writer. 
His story has been featured in several films, tv shows and podcasts as an example of what life can be like when you do the work to change and get sober.

Koebel’s award-winning investigative journalism spans a nearly two-decade career in markets that have included Ft. Myers; Phoenix; Boise, Idaho; and Clarksburg, West Virginia, where he began his career in 1995 as the local CBS affiliate’s 11 p.m. news anchor and reporter. His stories have led to scoops involving Mike Tyson’s rape charges, he’s covered Presidential elections from the campaign trail, tracked one of the FBI’s most-wanted killers in a manhunt through rural Arizona, exposed corruption in the government, and busted a nationwide sports memorabilia company for selling fake autographs in stadium stores across the U.S.

Koebel earned his journalism degree from the University of Florida.

AWARDS:
Emmy Award for “Asleep at the Wheel,” series unveiling the impacts of sleep deprivation and the deadly dangers on the roads.          
Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Award, Investigative story: “Congressional Bonuses.”
Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Award, Continuing Coverage: “School Bus Bully.”
Winner of 2010 Edward R Murrow Award for Continuing Coverage: “Stuck on a School Bus.” A more than yearlong investigation which exposed wasted tax payer money.
Emmy Nomination for Continuing Coverage: “Stuck on a School Bus.”
Associated Press Award for Best Light Feature: “President Obama Returns to SW Florida.”
Associated Press Award for Investigative Reporting: for exclusive story that exposed a network of counterfeit sports memorabilia sold at stadium stores across the country.  
Emmy Nomination for Investigative Story:“Who’s Driving Your Kid’s School Bus?” 
Emmy Nomination for Health/Science story, “Stroke on a Bus.”

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Director Statement

“I love it, I like you and I could sell it. But who are YOU? You’re trying to make Avatar before you’ve made Titanic.”
The Hollywood producer waits for my answer. i’d just finished pitching a tv show about helping people struggling with addiction.
I had no trouble telling the producer who I HAD been. An Emmy award-winning investigative reporter, who lost everything: my wife, my job, my house, and my reputation in a losing battle with addiction. Sober for more than a decade, that life was a long time ago. Now I’m in Hollywood — acting, producing, directing and living out dreams I once had as a kid.
Walking back to my car through the studio lot I keep thinking about that question. I pass sound stages, I watch crews working, check out sets and see executives coming and going from the commissary. How did I get here?
That’s when I decided to tell my story. On a film set,“Back to One” means take the scene again from the top. Do it over. Another take. I’m one of more than 23 million people in long term recovery from drugs and alcohol who started their lives over.
“Back to One,” a feature length documentary is the first film I’ve written, directed and produced. It intercuts between a contemporary storyline and the past. This is my story of how addiction starts in my life, how it works for me until it doesn’t and nearly kills me. The long and winding road of recovery can be beautiful one moment and tragic the next. A rollercoaster of ups and downs but if you hold on and do the work, the rewards can be greater then you ever imagined.