We’re honored to have been part of a powerful panel on gun violence prevention solutions at last week’s @milkeninstitute Global Conference in LA. #MIGlobal
All the Empty Rooms director Joshua Seftel (@jrseftel ) spoke alongside Angela Ferrell-Zabala (@ferrellzabala ), executive director of Moms Demand Action (@momsdemand ); Andre Dickens (@andreforatlanta ), mayor of Atlanta; and Jens Ludwig, University of Chicago (@uchicago ) professor. Journalist Jonathan Capehart (@capehartj ) moderated.
We’re especially grateful to Frank Blackwell for joining us – advocate and father of Dominic Blackwell, one of the children featured in our film. In the front row was Dominic’s best friend, Mia Tretta (@mia_tretta ), a two-time school shooting survivor and advocate for a safer future.
Scroll for a photo of Dominic and his bedroom. To learn more about Dominic and his family’s advocacy, please visit the @dmbfoundation .
We’re grateful to the Blackwell family for sharing their son Dominic’s story in All the Empty Rooms. Beyond welcoming our film crew into their home, Nancy and Frank have also joined us at events in New York, Boston, and San Francisco, bringing the difficult reality that families face after gun violence into focus. The final slide shows Dominic dancing with his uncle: a joyful glimpse of the love that continues to guide their work.
These screenings and events wouldn’t be possible without the generosity and support of our partners, including: @wburcityspace , @cwclub , @grassroots4gvp , @march_fourth_ , and many more.
Photos: Ed Ritger, Rowan Hodgson/WBUR
Six years today.
Six years since our son, Dominic Blackwell, was taken from us on November 14th, 2019.
Today we honor him by sharing the official trailer for All The Empty Rooms, a documentary memorializing the children lost to school shootings. Dominic’s story is part of that journey, and we’re grateful his memory lives on through this project.
Please watch, share, and help us keep his light alive.
Coming to Netflix December 1.
#AllTheEmptyRooms #Documentary #DominicBlackwell
@alltheemptyrooms@smartypantspictures@jrseftel@netflix
dmbfoundation.org
I have a small, but deeply personal ask.
1️⃣ Follow All the Empty Rooms on Facebook & Instagram.
2️⃣ Share this film with family and friends.
3️⃣ Watch it this December on Netflix.
🎬 “All The Empty Rooms” has been nominated for a Critics Choice Award and premiered at Telluride. Directed by Josh Seftel with photography by Lou Bopp, it’s one of only a few short documentaries selected this year out of 1,000+ submissions.
This is Dominic’s room — our sweet, funny, kind, and vibrant firstborn. Our son, the beloved child of Frank and Nancy Blackwell. It’s still filled with SpongeBob, his favorite. Every corner holds his laughter, light, and story.
The letter shown is one he wrote to his mom before starting high school — equal parts humor and heart.
“All The Empty Rooms” is about absence and memory — how parents live with “the empty room” after the unimaginable. Dominic’s room, like so many others, still holds his essence.
The film honors four beautiful children:
🌟 Dominic Blackwell – son of Frank and Nancy Blackwell (Saugus HS)
🌟 Gracie Muehlberger – daughter of Bryan and Cindy Muehlberger (Saugus HS)
🌟 Jackie Cazares – daughter of Javier and Gloria Hernandez Cazares (Uvalde)
🌟 Hallie Scruggs – daughter of Chad and Jada Scruggs (Nashville Covenant)
Together, they represent just 4 of the 172 children killed in school shootings since 2000.
👉 CBS Teaser by Steve Hartman
🌐 Learn more at dmbfoundation.org
#AllTheEmptyRooms #DominicBlackwell #dmbfoundation #graciestrong
A temporal landmark is a moment in time that splits life into before and after.
For us, that moment was the day Dominic was taken from us.
From that day forward, everything changed.
People often talk about life “before it happened” and “after that day,” because grief leaves a line that can’t be erased.
We remember things differently now. Memories are no longer just dates or moments — they’re anchored to that line.
There was the before — filled with his laughter, his light, the way he filled every space.
And there’s the after — where every milestone, every holiday, every passing year is measured against that one day.
