A Film That Speaks Through Silence: All the Empty Rooms

Conrad Fischer, MD, is the Program Director and Vice Chair of the Department of Medicine at OBH Brookdale Hospital Medical Center and a Professor of Medicine. An infectious disease internist based in Brooklyn, Dr. Fischer also serves as Executive Director of the documentary All the Empty Rooms that is now on Netflix. This film recently made the Oscar shortlist 117films 86 countries.

All the Empty Rooms follows veteran CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they embark on a seven-year project documenting the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings. Stepping away from his signature human interest stories—and unbeknownst to his network’s leadership—Hartman pursues a deeply personal exploration of absence, memory, and the unseen ripples of America’s gun violence epidemic. As these senseless incidents claim more young lives than any other cause in the United States, these quiet bedrooms reveal truths more powerful than statistics ever could.

More than a film, All the Empty Rooms serves as a call to action. By honoring the children and families featured, the documentary underscores the lasting impact of school shootings and gun violence on communities across America and stands alongside organizations working to remember those lost and support those left behind. Through advocacy, policy, public safety, and community violence intervention, every step matters in working toward #NoMoreEmptyRooms.

How do you see film and medicine intersecting in this project?

People think and feel through the stories we hear. They change the way we feel about our society. In this case, we want people to feel the pain of those children who have died in gun violence and their families. Telling this as the story of four dead children will do more than any amount of statistics.

How can we treat death from guns as different from cancer?

It is different because it is 100% preventable. That is the story we must tell. 

In your view, why is this film important for audiences to watch?

Firearms are the number one cause of death in children in the United States. We have to give everyone the opportunity to feel what it is like to stand in one of those rooms. It would change the country.

Link to Watch on Netflix