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All the Empty Rooms

Play trailer Poster for All the Empty Rooms PG-13 2025 34m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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Steve Hartman and Lou Bopp embark on a seven-year-long project to document the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings.
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All the Empty Rooms

Critics Reviews

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Jennifer Green Common Sense Media Dec 9
4/5
This documentary is succinct, devastating, and necessary. Go to Full Review
John Stark Mac the Movie Guy Dec 8
95/100
Hartman’s sobering look at tragedy many would rather ignore is a necessary reminder of our continued failure for the next generations. Sadly, Hartman is more likely to make a sequel before anyone lifts a finger. Go to Full Review
Pedro Paunero EscribiendoCine Dec 4
8/10
In the face of the media's account that turns horror into routine, [All the Empty Rooms] proposes a pause. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review
John Serba Decider Dec 2
All the Empty Rooms is a difficult but powerful 35 minutes. Don’t be surprised if it earns an Oscar nod. Go to Full Review
Christopher Campbell Nonfics (Substack) Nov 28
It’s a film where the subjects’ work is more worthy of honoring than the film they’re in, but it’s still the most polished documentary short I’ve seen this year. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Chad C. @thechad912 3h Hartman is a thoughtful voice in a chaotic world. Not one mention of guns or politics, only the memories of missing children and the rooms they left behind. As a father, I watched this whole film through the tears in my eyes. I can’t say that this film left me healed, but I learned that nothing will change if we go numb. See more Renaldo D 2d A short film that is relevant and important for today's society. See more Yash B @yashbansal 4d "All the Empty Rooms" is an emotionally devastating and essential documentary. This film centers on a topic that is still very relevant and tragic, and I think it should be required viewing for everyone. It is very emotional to watch, and even in just 30 minutes, I felt very drained and upset by the end. My only real critique is that I feel this topic and concept could have benefited from a longer film. It would have been difficult to watch for that long, but at the time, I feel like it could have left even more of an impact. Overall, what is presented is really effective, and I hope that some real change happens in the future. See more Kasi B. @rottenkasi Dec 10 Heartbreaking. If you want to watch something that stirs your emotions and forces you to look at a societal problem from an angle that you know exists but hasn’t directly impacted you, this is the one. See more Vanessa M. @Vmorrison23 Dec 8 Heartbreaking. Each room in this film tells the story of a child, who they were, what they loved, and the life they should have been able to continue living. It’s a powerful and devastating way to honor the children lost to such senseless violence. My heart aches for the parents, siblings, families, and communities who continue to carry this grief. I can only hope for a future where this reality no longer exists. I cried through the entire film. See more Pfeiffer M @PMcRae Dec 5 I have never, ever written a review for a documentary before and I watch a lot of them. This is hands-down one of the most thought provoking, devastating, and beautifully directed documentaries I've watched in a long time - maybe ever. The respect to the families while capturing almost a narration from the victims themselves was simply gut-wrenching. I cried throughout the entire thing... Every single American should be required to watch this film. Phenomenally done. See more Read all reviews
All the Empty Rooms

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Movie Info

Synopsis Steve Hartman and Lou Bopp embark on a seven-year-long project to document the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings.
Director
Joshua Seftel
Producer
Trevor Burgess, James Costa, Conall Jones, Joshua Seftel
Distributor
Netflix
Production Co
Artemis Rising Foundation, Smartypants Pictures, Hyperobject Industries
Rating
PG-13 (Brief Strong Language|Thematic Material)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Dec 1, 2025
Runtime
34m
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