WASHINGTON, D.C. – While the Warriors were playing Sunday night on basketball’s biggest stage — the court at Madison Square Garden — another of Steve Kerr’s projects was honored at Hollywood’s starriest night.
“All the Empty Rooms”, a film about families who have lost their children to school shootings, was awarded Best Documentary Short Film at the Oscars. Kerr was an executive producer for the project.
The choice to support the documentary was an easy one for a man who has long been an advocate for gun laws in response to mass shootings.
“I’m very proud and very insistent about making this an issue for the rest of my life, as long as I have a platform,” Kerr said at Capital One Arena on Tuesday afternoon. “I think it’s the No. 1 public health issue we face in this crisis. It’s the No. 1 killer of children in America, which is stunning.”
In November, Kerr spoke about the need for gun reform after legendary Oakland coach John Beam was murdered at Laney College, and called for change after a shooting at Brown University in December.
The 35-minute short film follows CBS television journalist Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp as they chronicled the stories of families whose children died in school shootings.
A major part of the project was Bopp photographing the bedrooms of the deceased, all of which had been left either untouched or as memorials.
Kerr hoped that the film — which focuses strictly on the victims and their families, rather than the event or shooter — can help create change in the country.
Kerr, whose father Malcolm was assassinated as president of American University in Beirut, used his name and notoriety as a coach to promote the film. He joined his point guard, Steph Curry, as an executive producer for an Oscar-winning documentary (The Queen of Basketball).
As executive producer, he was not directly involved in the making of the project, but Kerr did not hesitate to lend his support and name recognition to the project directed by Joshua Seftel.
“My involvement was really putting my name on it and trying to help promote it,” Kerr said. “(The documentary) was beautifully done, just how poignant it was and how empathetic and compassionate Steve and Lou were in the film when they were going into the homes.”
During Sunday night’s ceremony, Seftel accepted the trophy and then gave the microphone to Gloria Cazares, whose nine-year-old daughter was killed in the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas.
“Since that day, her bedroom has been frozen in time,” Cazares said. “Jackie is more than just a headline. She is our light and our life. 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.”
Kerr made sure to note that he would not actually receive an Oscar for the film.
Kerr’s Oscar added to a banner Oscar night for the Bay Area. He joined Oakland native Ryan Coogler as an Oscar honoree, who saw “Sinners” win Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor (Michael B. Jordan), Best Cinematography and Best Original Score.