AllMovie

Millions of parents wave their children into school, placing their trust in the sanctity of a classroom. For much of the country, school shootings remain distant, seen as tragedies that plague faraway towns. The families of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School were no different -- until the afternoon of Valentine’s Day 2018, when a gunman walked into the freshman building and opened fire. In the aftermath, filmmakers Emily Taguchi and Jake Lefferman filmed with students and families whose lives were transformed: senior David Hogg, who recorded his class during the attack and became the face of the Never Again movement; freshman Brooke Harrison, who was in the first classroom under attack; Sam Zeif, a senior who was locked down in the same building, texting with his little brother and unsure if they would ever see each other again; Andrew Pollack, the father of 18-year old Meadow, who was killed after being shot nine times; and the loved ones of 17 year-old Joaquin Oliver, including his father Manuel, girlfriend Victoria Gonzalez, and best friend Dillon McCooty. The filmmakers developed trusting relationships with the families, who opened their doors during some of the most difficult moments they had ever faced. Weaving together candid, in-depth interviews, verite footage, and personal videos, the film chronicles moments both intimate and defining -- from the quiet hours of grief and reflection, to those of political awakening, and onto milestones on the public stage -- overshadowed by profound loss and an elusive search for normalcy.