Filmmaker honors daughter killed in Uvalde shooting after ‘All the Empty Rooms’ Oscar win — where to watch it
The 98th Academy Awards brought plenty of glitz and glamor to the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles on March 15. Along with the hilarious monologue and star power that grace Hollywood's biggest night, another highlight of the award ceremony has been the emotional speeches that tug at audiences' heartstrings.
This year, the most emotional moment of the night came when 'All the Empty Rooms' won the award for 'Best Documentary Short Film.' The film follows journalist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they showcase the empty bedrooms of four children - Hallie, Gracie, Dominic, and Jackie - who were killed in school shootings in the last seven years.
Joshua Seftel, the film's director, joined producer Conall Jones and the CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman onstage to accept the award. The trio brought along Gloria Cazares, whose 9-year-old daughter Jackie is one of the film's subjects. She was among the 19 students and two teachers killed at Robb Elementary School during the Uvalde school shooting on May 24, 2022.
In his speech, Seftel thanked the Academy, along with Netflix, and the documentary's "incredibly compassionate filmmaking team." Then Cazares, who was dressed in a red gown and wore a button with Jackie’s photo, took center stage to honor Jackie. She said, "My daughter, Jackie, was 9 years old when she was killed in Uvalde.
Since that day, her bedroom has been frozen in time. Jackie is more than just a headline. She is our light and our life." She also appealed for better gun laws in the country. "Gun violence is now the No. 1 cause of death in kids and teens. We believe that if the world could see their empty bedrooms, we’d be a different America. Thank you," she said before receiving applause from the audience.
After their daughter's tragic death, Gloria and her husband, Javier, preserved her bedroom as a way to honor her memories: "We never thought of changing it because it pays tribute to the memory of our bright, funny little girl.” She also spoke about coping with the unending grief, saying that "Three and a half years on, grief is part of me now. Some days you can just carry it with you, and there are other days when it just knocks the wind out of you. The days when I talk about her and share her personality and our deep love for her help a little bit with the ache in my heart."
'All the Empty Rooms' was released globally on Netflix on December 1. Viewers can watch the documentary by signing up for one of its three plans: Standard with ads, Standard without ads, or Premium (with ads).
'All the Empty Rooms' was nominated for an Oscar alongside other short films like 'Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud,' 'Children No More: Were and are Gone,' 'Perfectly a Strangeness,' and 'The Devil Is Busy.'
