The transition to remote learning has, at least temporarily, eliminated the horror of school shootings from communities across America.  But agonizing memories can never be silenced, and the prospect of a return to normalcy in our schools must compel us not to lose sight of the need to ensure safety for all American students.

A recent Netfilx release, the animated short film If Anything Happens I Love You, makes an important contribution to the cause.

The film, which is directed by Michael Govier and Will McCormack, centers around two grieving parents after their daughter dies in a school shooting. In only 12 minutes and without any dialogue, If Anything Happens I Love You manages to capture grief in an impactful way that will leave viewers with tears in their eyes.

The film is almost entirely in black and white, except for occasional pops of color on important objects and during flashbacks of the daughter. This is a nice touch, showing how much joy and life the daughter brought to her parents’ lives. The color blue is used often in the film to show the daughter’s presence, even after her death.

In one scene, the mother is doing laundry when she comes across one of the girl’s shirts, represented by the color blue. The mother holds the shirt to her chest and breaks down and cries. Even though they are simple, animated characters on a television or cell phone screen, this scene feels profoundly genuine and heartbreaking. It shows that grief can overtake us at any moment. Around 2.5 million people die in the United States every year, and each person leaves an average of five grieving people behind.

The animation style of the film is deliberately minimalistic, conveying the empty feeling associated with tragic loss. It poignantly represents the characters’ emotions through the use of sketches and watercolors.

The characters’ shadows are a key part of the short film. While the parents remain silent, their shadows yell at each other. A lingering aspect of their grief is their guilt; they wish there was something they could have done to save their daughter’s life. Throughout the 12 minutes of the film, the parents struggle with the suddenness of their daughter’s death due to unexpected and horrific violence. 

The film’s message is represented by the American flag hanging in the school where the daughter loses her life. Since 1970, the U.S. has had 1,316 school shootings. That’s 1,316 too many. There are 57 times as many shootings in America as the other six G7 countries (Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France, and the United Kingdom — the countries with the largest advanced economies in the world) combined. Since 2009, the United States has led in the number of school shootings each year, leaving families to wonder whether the American government will ever take sufficient action to prevent such massacres from happening again.  How many more children will lose their lives, and how many families will be shattered by grief before our country realizes that it’s time to take action?

If Anything Happens I Love You is a moving and meticulously crafted short film that we can expect to hear about during Oscar season. It’s the kind of film that resonates long after the first viewing.