Seven years. Media correspondent Steve Hartman has been working on this poignant documentary for seven years. Along with long-time friend and photographer Lou Bopp they visit families across the US who have been affected by school shootings and document all of their ‘empty rooms.’
We’re so used to seeing the media side of stories that this is where it gets very real. Directed by Joshua Seftel and distributed by Netflix, the emotionally poignant untold stories have been nominated for ‘Best Documentary Short’ at this year’s Academy Awards.
We step into the families lives. From keeping the lights on to hearing their voice recordings through teddies and keeping their rooms exactly how they left them. Alongside this we see Lou talking through the process of photographing his daughter every day to see her progression. This freedom of growing up serves as a reminder for the importance of life.
What we need to talk about is the child that’s not here anymore.
Steve leads the story on how we can change the narrative. The media constantly speaks about the perpetrators behind such attacks. But we rarely see the point of view from the victims’ families. This project specifically seeks out to tell their side of the story. We’re no longer positioned through the lens of the media, but through the families eyes instead.
Beautifully Sad
Simple everyday items are turned into time capsules. Captured in time, photographs steal the moment on what we deem as essentials mean everything to these families now. Everything from the hair left in a hairbrush to the cap left open on toothpaste – it’s not only a documentary that makes you think but makes you question everything.
The main question probed throughout is – are their lives really lost if we still feel them here? That’s the powerful meaning behind this documentary. However, undeniably the most heartbreaking scene comes when a father reads out a ‘note to my future self’ written in his daughter’s handwriting. It’s poignant, heartbreaking, and utterly devastating.
So as long as that room exists, she exists, in a way.
There’s different pointers to take away here. One is ensuring the memories stay alive. And another is how we can change the narrative by shining a light on the victims and their families rather than the perpetrators. If we change our mindsets, the world will become a better place. The documentary welcomes you to become more open to realising the life-long impacts, as well as, heartache this traumatic event can cause. It’s not over just because the media stops reporting on it, it’s never over.
Keeping Their Spirits Alive
Gaining an insight into their lives, this documentary makes you feel like you know the children from how they frame and tell their stories. It’s personal and hits the viewer hard. Documenting the life and legacy of the children left behind. It gifts a voice to the voiceless.
As more of these atrocities happen each year, Steve’s biggest worry is how these shocking events are no longer personalised in reports. They are so frequent now that they almost overshadow one another when reported in media outlets. We no longer have time to stop and think about the individual victims.
The documentary cleverly speaks from a different perspective as we see all of the ’empty rooms.’ Mixing the past with the present, the documentary showcases who they were and what they leave behind through archival footage of family videos and Lou Bopp’s photography.
An Insight Into Their Inner Lives
The use of close-up shots in the childrens’ rooms allow us to zoom in. And so we gain an insight into their inner lives. From the little trinkets left on their desks to the stuffed teddies left on their beds – this is who they were when they left for school that day and who they still are as their families fight to keep their spirits alive.
“I want the project to remind people that these were our children. That these were your children. These could be your children.”
Steve and Lou gift photo books to the families to let the ‘pictures speak for themselves’ as truly no amount of words can heal their pain. But allowing this insight may just change the perspective. Particularly seeing the victims beyond the trauma. It’s not just about the victims taken in such tragedies but about the family and friends who live with the pain.
But the truth lies in everyday America. This is the reality. Pain, heartbreak, and memories – these children are forever captured in time for the families they leave behind.
Rating: 4.5 Stars
All the Empty Rooms is available to stream on Netflix. You can read more reviews on Oscar-nominated films, including The Ugly Stepsister (2025) here. Discover more about All the Empty Rooms and how to take action here.