It’s rare to see our Workbook photographers step in front of the camera, but with Lou Bopp, the focus feels not only natural — it feels essential. Bopp joins CBS News reporter Steve Hartman in the powerful documentary featured on Netflix, All the Empty Rooms, a project honoring the children lost to gun violence through the spaces they left behind.
Equal parts requiem and revelation, All the Empty Rooms (directed by Joshua Seftel) blends Hartman’s deeply felt reporting with Bopp’s meticulous, hauntingly beautiful images to create a memorial on film. Seven years in the making, the documentary takes viewers inside “sacred spaces frozen in time,” each bedroom offering a story of a life interrupted and a reminder of the staggering human cost of gun violence.
In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Bopp shared:
“In some rooms, it looks like somebody was just there — the room’s kind of a mess, and in the bathroom there’s a hair brush on the floor or on the counter the toothpaste cap is off. Literally, you can feel their presence.”
As gun violence continues to rise, the film seeks to restore the individuality and humanity of the victims, urging viewers to see these children as more than statistics. The impact is already resonating — the documentary has been featured on CNN, CBS, and 60 Minutes, named to DOC NYC’s 2025 Short List, and nominated for a Critics Choice Documentary Award.
Yet for Lou Bopp, the weight of the work goes far beyond accolades. As Rolling Stone notes, he still gets emotional recalling what it felt like to walk into those bedrooms:
“It’s the behind the scenes of what happens after the news cycle is done. And I hope it pisses people off. I hope it drives people crazy,” he says, his voice breaking.
All the Empty Rooms stands as a powerful act of witness — and a reminder of the lives that echo long after the headlines fade.
See images and trailers for the documentary below. For more of his work, visit Lou’s Workbook portfolio.
Represented by The Gren Group.
Room images sourced from All the Empty Rooms Instagram Account.
