Netflix’s new documentary short exposes the gun violence crisis through a cross-country journey that memorializes the bedrooms of children lost to school shootings and highlights the urgent need for action in America.
Netflix is preparing to release a powerful and emotional new documentary short film this winter called All The Empty Rooms, shining a stark light on the devastating impact of school shootings across the United States. The project will debut on December 1, 2025, and comes from Academy Award–nominee Joshua Seftel, known for the acclaimed Stranger at the Gate.
The film follows reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they travel across the country to memorialize the preserved bedrooms of children whose lives were cut short by school shootings. Each room becomes a heartbreaking snapshot in time — a space left exactly as it was, reflecting dreams, personalities, and futures tragically stolen. Their journey serves as both a tribute and a sobering call for action as gun violence continues to rise nationwide.
Seftel directs the documentary and also serves as one of its producers alongside Conall Jones, James Costa, and Trevor Burgess. The project brings together a notable slate of executive producers, including Adam McKay, Kevin Messick, Steve Kerr, Rev. Dr. Conrad Fischer, MD, Roy and Mary Judelson, Phil and Cheryl Milstein, Geralyn Dreyfous, Regina K. Scully, Melony and Adam Lewis, Claire Aguilar, Lisa Cortés, Sigrid Dyekjær, Anna Bick Rowe, Jon Levin, Kim Magnusson, and Eric Nichols.
Presented in the format of a documentary short film, the project aims to offer a deeply personal and urgent examination of the national gun violence epidemic — grounding its message not in statistics, but in the intimate spaces left behind.
With its release set for December 1, the film is poised to be one of Netflix’s most impactful nonfiction offerings of the year.
