All The Empty Rooms: "Not only do we not show shootings or talk about the shooters, we don’t even mention the word “gun.” "

vHopeful Conversations Podcast · Mar 1, 2026 · 24m

In this vHopeful Conversation, Vanessa Hope talks with director Joshua Seftel about his Oscar‑nominated short All the Empty Rooms, which follows CBS reporter Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they visit the preserved bedrooms of children killed in school shootings. Joshua describes how a single image—a toothpaste tube with its cap left off—convinced him this could be a powerful film about absence and presence, and why he chose to avoid showing violence, naming shooters, or even using the word “gun,” instead focusing entirely on rooms, objects, and the families’ memories. He explains…