Netflix has acquired All the Empty Rooms, a poignant 32-minute-long documentary short directed by Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Joshua Seftel (Stranger at the Gate). The film, which has a simple mission to increase collective empathy, explores the devastating impact of gun violence on American families.
Executive produced by Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Malala Yousafzai and Rev. Dr. Conrad Fischer, MD, All the Empty Rooms follows news correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp on a seven-year journey. The filmmakers visit the homes of families who have lost a child to gun violence, photographing the children’s bedrooms as they were on their last day. These “sacred spaces frozen in time” serve as a powerful and emotional tribute to the forgotten children of America.
The film’s focus on shared human experience rather than political debate aims to bypass traditional divides, uniting audiences around the common need to love and protect children.
“Firearms are now the leading cause of death for children in the United States, and we as a nation are failing,” reads a page on Filmmakers Collaborative promoting the docs. “This film is a starting point for a much larger conversation, one rooted in empathy and shared humanity.”
Joshua Seftel, an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker, has a long history of creating powerful documentaries. His previous film, Stranger at the Gate, was nominated for a 2023 Academy Award and was part of his Emmy and Peabody-nominated project Secret Life of Muslims, which combats Islamophobia. Producers on the film include Trevor Burgess, James Costa, Conall Jones, and Joshua Seftel.
The doc has been rated PG-13 for brief strong language and thematic material. It’s currently set to premiere at Short Cuts 2025 Programme 06 at TIFF 50 this September and also showcase at the Chagrin Documentary Film Fest in October.
Picture: TIFF
For a look at all the new documentaries Netflix has in store throughout September 2025, check out our preview, and also don’t forget that other docs Netflix still has to come throughout the remainder of 2025 include In Waves and War, The White House Effect, 1975, Eddie, and The Perfect Neighbor.
We’ll keep this post updated once Netflix officially unveils the new doc short and the release date.
