Interview With "All The Empty Rooms" Filmmaker Joshua Seftel

The Next Best Picture Podcast

Tv & Film

4.2 • 542 Ratings

🗓️ 6 March 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

"All The Empty Rooms" is an American documentary short film, directed and produced by Joshua Seftel. It follows Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they embark across the United States to memorialize the bedrooms of children killed in school shootings. The film had its world premiere at the 52nd Telluride Film Festival and received positive reviews. Netflix released it globally on its streaming service on December 1st. It has been nominated for the Best Documentary Short Film at the 98th Academy Awards. Seftel was kind enough to spend some time speaking with us about his experience and work on the film, which you can listen to below. Please be sure to check out the film, which is now available to stream on Netflix and is up for your consideration for this year's Academy Awards. Thank you, and enjoy! Check out more on NextBestPicture.com Please subscribe on... Apple Podcasts - https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/negs-best-film-podcast/id1087678387?mt=2 Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/show/7IMIzpYehTqeUa1d9EC4jT YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWA7KiotcWmHiYYy6wJqwOw And be sure to help support us on Patreon for as little as $1 a month at https://www.patreon.com/NextBestPicture and listen to this podcast ad-free Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	You were listening to The Next Best Picture Podcast, and this is Daniel Howitz interview with the director for all the empty rooms, Joshua Seftel.
0:08.2	Hi.
0:14.2	I've been typecast as, you know, the feel good, happy news kind of guy.
0:21.6	What I'd been doing is just weight washing the whole thing.
0:29.6	I felt like, you know, I've got to do something different.
0:32.6	What could I do?
0:33.6	What could I do? do.
0:45.3	It's interesting how memory works.
0:49.3	You know, what you want is something that you can't have.
0:53.3	Hang around, it's a lovely day.
0:57.0	Her room, no, that was her safe place.
1:03.0	When that time comes that that room is not there, does she go away?
1:11.6	Do you go away?
1:13.6	Do you go in there a lot?
1:23.6	Oh yeah, a lot.
1:26.6	Every day I tell her good morning and every night I tell her good night.
1:35.3	I wish that we could transport all Americans to stand in one of those bedrooms.
1:40.3	For just a few minutes, we'd be a different America.
1:45.2	Josh, my name's Daniel, the next best picture.
1:47.7	Thank you so much for your time today, talking about your film, all the empty rooms.
1:52.6	Such a moving work.
1:54.1	I'm really happy for all the recognition that has been receiving.
	...

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