Documentary Honors Lives Lost in School Shootings Through Empty Rooms

The documentary *All The Empty Rooms* presents a poignant exploration of the lives lost to school shootings by focusing on the empty bedrooms of victims. Directed by Joshua Seftel, the film chronicles the efforts of CBS news correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp over several years. They memorialize the spaces left behind by four families from Santa Clarita, California; Uvalde, Texas; and Nashville, Tennessee. Nominated for Best Documentary Short Film at the 2026 Academy Awards, the film is currently available on Netflix.

Seftel was approached by Hartman three years ago, who showed him an evocative photograph of an open toothpaste tube from the bathroom of a school shooting victim. Seftel reflected on the image, stating, “You could see the story. You could imagine the kid rushing to school in the morning, not taking the time to put the cap back on the toothpaste tube, thinking, ‘I’ll put that on when I get home.’ And then the child never came home from school.” This powerful imagery led Seftel to pursue the idea of depicting school shootings through the lens of these intimate spaces.

Respectful Representation of Victims

Throughout the filmmaking process, Seftel emphasized a respectful approach to documenting the families’ experiences. He noted that many of the rooms were “frozen in time,” remaining untouched by parents since the tragic day their children died. To maintain this sensitivity, the crew operated with minimal equipment and small teams when entering the rooms.

In a conversation with Julia Paskin, host of LAist All Things Considered, Seftel discussed the common media focus on the perpetrators of such violence. He stated, “A lot of the coverage on school shootings… often faded away from the news coverage. So you end up with the victims being forgotten.” The families featured in *All The Empty Rooms* expressed feelings of abandonment as the world moved on from their grief. Seftel aimed to highlight the stories of the children who were lost, opting to avoid mentioning the term “gun” in the film. He explained, “We wanted to make a film that was about the children who were gone… we think the stories of these children in these empty rooms have the potential to make people feel something again.”

The Role of Silence in Storytelling

The film also features Hartman as a character, which is a significant departure from his usual “feel-good” stories on CBS. Seftel believed it was crucial to include Hartman in the narrative, as the silence within these empty rooms speaks volumes about the absence of the children. “In some cases, there’s really nothing to say,” Seftel remarked. He highlighted that the issue of gun violence and school shootings, which occur over 100 times a year in the United States, should provoke deep reflection rather than sensationalism.

One notable voice in the documentary is Mia Tretta, a survivor of the 2019 Saugus High School shooting in Santa Clarita, where she lost her best friend, Dominic Blackwell. Tretta recounted her traumatic experiences, stating, “I lost my best friend and I went across the country to go to college. And six years later, I found myself in lockdown for over 10 hours at the Brown University shooting.” She recalled meeting Blackwell on her first day of eighth grade, describing him as friendly and approachable. Tretta expressed the profound pain of losing him, emphasizing that “the pain of getting shot… is terrible… but nothing compares to the pain that I felt losing Dominic.”

The documentary serves not only as a tribute to those lost but also as a call to remember the individuals behind the statistics. By focusing on the intimate spaces they occupied, *All The Empty Rooms* invites viewers to reflect on the human cost of gun violence in schools. As Seftel articulated, the film aims to ensure that the stories of these children remain alive in the public consciousness.