Thoughts & Prayers (2025 film)

Last updated
Thoughts & Prayers
Thoughts Prayers poster.jpg
Official poster
Directed by
Produced by
  • Claire Read
  • Gary Kout
CinematographyJarred Alterman
Edited by
Music byMatthew Joynt
Production
companies
Distributed by HBO
Release dates
  • November 12, 2025 (2025-11-12)(DOC NYC)
  • November 18, 2025 (2025-11-18)(United States)
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Thoughts & Prayers: Or How to Survive an Active Shooter in America is a 2025 American documentary film directed by Zackary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock. It explores Active shooter training and the industry surrounding it.

Contents

It had its world premiere at DOC NYC on November 12, 2025, and was released on November 18, 2025, by HBO.

Premise

Explores the $3 billion Active shooter training industry and its effect on students and educators. [1]

Production

Zachary Canepari and Jessica Dimmock decided to make the film as their daughter was going through school and discussing safety. [2] [3] Dimmock was curious about the effect it would have on their daughter and all kids going through drills. [4] Canepari and Dimmock opted to not include politics or lawmakers and only included statistics in order to make the film accessible to all. [5] The film participated in the 2022 Gotham Project Market. [6]

Release

It had its world premiere at DOC NYC on November 12, 2025. [7] [8] It was released on November 18, 2025, by HBO. [9]

Reception

Critical reception

Jacob Oller of The A.V. Club praised the film writing: "It’s objectively ridiculous and vulgar, and the filmmakers mostly allow the interview subjects to stew in their own damning words." [10] David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a B writing: "Canepari and Dimmock’s film may present itself as a po-faced look at “how to survive an active shooter in America”, but make no mistake: This is a straight-faced comedy about the power of mass psychosis." [11] For The Playlist, Rodrigo Perez wrote, "The film's anger is muted but unmistakable. 'Thoughts & Prayers' is about a nation that would rather teach children how to hide, how to bleed, how to die — than pass even the most modest gun reforms." [12]

References

  1. ↑ "HBO Original Documentary Thoughts & Prayers Debuts November 18". Warner Bros. Discovery . November 6, 2025. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  2. ↑ Hassenger, Jesse (November 18, 2025). "'Do we live in a war zone?': how US schools prepare for a shooting". The Guardian . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  3. ↑ Bosselman, Haley (November 18, 2025). "A Poignant New HBO Documentary Explores the Modern State of Active Shooter Emergency Preparedness in the U.S." Los Angeles . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  4. ↑ Dodd, Johnny (November 18, 2025). "Parents Open Up About Why Their New Documentary on School Shootings Left Them Freaked Out for Their 8-Year-Old". People . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  5. ↑ McShane, Julianne (November 19, 2025). "Inside the $4 Billion Industry Built on America's School Shooting Epidemic". Mother Jones . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Gotham Week 2022 Project Market – Full Slate". The Gotham. August 1, 2022. Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  7. ↑ Morfoot, Addie (October 9, 2025). "DOC NYC Unveils 16th Annual Film Lineup (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  8. ↑ "Thoughts & Prayers". DOC NYC . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  9. ↑ Carey, Matthew (November 6, 2025). "'Thoughts & Prayers' Trailer: As School Shootings Decimate America, HBO Documentary Examines Flourishing Billion-Dollar Shooter Preparedness Industry". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  10. ↑ Oller, Jacob (November 18, 2025). "A new documentary finds the limits of laughing at the school-shooter industrial complex". The A.V. Club . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  11. ↑ Ehrlich, David (November 18, 2025). "'Thoughts & Prayers' Review: A Damning HBO Documentary Explores the Mass Psychosis of America's Gun Epidemic". IndieWire . Retrieved November 20, 2025.
  12. ↑ Perez, Rodrigo (17 November 2025). "'Thoughts & Prayers' Review: Chilling School Shooting Doc Is A Deeply Depressing Indictment Of America's Failure To Protect Kids [DOC NYC]". The Playlist. Retrieved 25 November 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.