Note: Some films in this program contain graphic war imagery, adult themes and language. Recommended for persons 17 and up.

All the Empty Rooms – dir. Joshua Seftel, 33 min. US. English.

All the Empty Rooms follows veteran CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they embark on a seven-year-long project to document the empty bedrooms of children killed in school shootings. Hartman steps away from his heartwarming human-interest stories and unbeknownst to his network’s bosses, pursues a piece on 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 America, these quiet bedrooms reveal truths more powerful than statistics ever could.

Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud – dir. Craig Renaud and Brent Renaud, 38 min. US. English/Various Languages with English subtitles.

On March 13, 2022, filmmaker Brent Renaud was killed by Russian soldiers – the first American journalist to die while reporting on the war in Ukraine. His younger brother and collaborator, Craig Renaud, recovered Brent’s body and his final recordings from Ukraine and brought them back to their childhood home in Arkansas. As Brent’s journey to his final resting place unfolds, the film chronicles the years he and his brother spent covering some of the world’s most dangerous conflicts.

Children No More: “Were and Are Gone” – dir. Hilla Medalia, 36 min. Israel. Hebrew with English subtitles.

Children No More: “Were and are Gone” is an observational documentary short about a vigil that began in March 2025, when a handful of women stood silently in a public square in Tel Aviv, each holding a photograph of a child killed in Gaza. On every image: the child’s name, age, date of death, and the words “WAS AND IS NO MORE.”

The Devil is Busy – dir. Christalyn Hampton and Geeta Gandbhir, 31 min. US. English.

The Devil is Busy takes viewers on a daylong journey with Tracii, the determined head of security at a women’s healthcare clinic in Atlanta, Georgia as she works to ensure the safety of women seeking abortions in the face of new restrictions and persistent protests.

Perfectly A Strangeness – dir. Alison McAlpine, 15 min. Canada. Silent.

In the dazzling incandescence of an unknown desert, three donkeys discover an abandoned astronomical observatory and the universe. A sensorial, cinematic exploration of what a story can be.

Also playing at the JBFC – Oscar Shorts 2026: Live Action and Oscar Shorts 2026: Animated.