A powerful and deeply moving new documentary on Netflix has been described by viewers as the "saddest" they have ever seen. 'All The Empty Rooms', which began streaming on December 1, is a harrowing 30-minute film that explores the devastating aftermath of school shootings in America through a profoundly intimate lens.
The Heartbreaking Mission Behind the Film
The project was initiated by veteran CBS News journalist Steve Hartman, who is known for his lighter reports. Seeking to raise awareness about the epidemic of gun violence, he reached out to Oscar-nominated filmmaker Joshua Seftel in 2016. Hartman, alongside photographer Lou Bopp, then embarked on a seven-year journey across the United States.
Their mission was singular and poignant: to visit the families of children killed in school shootings and to photograph the victims' bedrooms, which often remained untouched as heartbreaking memorials. The resulting film uses these still images and interviews with grieving parents to honour lives cut tragically short.
Silence and Absence: The Children Remembered
The documentary focuses on several young victims, including nine-year-old Jackie Cazares, killed in the 2022 Uvalde, Texas school shooting, and nine-year-old Hallie Scruggs, a victim of the 2023 Covenant School shooting in Nashville. It also features Dominic Blackwell, 14, and Gracie Muehlberger, 15, both lost in the 2019 Saugus High School shooting in California.
Filmmaker Joshua Seftel explained the film's core to Netflix's Tudum: "In many ways, this film is about silence. We wanted to try to give people the experience of what it’s like to step into these rooms, and to feel the absence of these children."
A Digital Memorial Beyond the Screen
Not all the homes visited by Hartman and Bopp could be included in the short film. To ensure every story is told, the team created a dedicated Instagram page, @alltheemptyrooms. Here, they share the poignant photographs and stories of other children.
One particularly devastating post remembers six-year-old Charlotte Bacon, killed in the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. It describes the snow globe with a tiny lamb she made at a Girl Scouts meeting the night before she died, which still sits on her dresser. "It’s been 13 years and a day," the caption notes, underscoring the enduring grief.
The documentary 'All The Empty Rooms' stands as a stark, silent testament to a national crisis. By focusing on the empty spaces and personal artefacts left behind, it transforms overwhelming statistics into palpable human loss, urging viewers to confront the real cost of gun violence.
