About the film
About 15 DAYS
The documentary that asks who closed America’s schools, and why.
The story
15 DAYS: The Real Story of America’s Pandemic School Closures, directed by Natalya Murakhver and produced with Hawk Jensen and Eli Steele, is a documentary revealing why America’s school closures lasted longer than almost any other nation. Murakhver, an NYC “Open Schools” mom who filed a lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio to reopen schools during the pandemic, connected with parents and medical experts across the nation engaged in similar fights in their cities and towns.
Framed as a forensic analysis of what happened to children during school closures, it blends Murakhver’s perspective as a Soviet immigrant with voices of children and families nationwide, exposing devastating learning loss, mental health crises, and inequality. The film challenges the narrative that “we did the best we could with the info we had” by revealing that key science was available and ignored, and examining how unions and activists influenced the crisis.
From Garrett “Bam” Morgan, a Queens high school football star who lost his season, to NIH Director Dr. Jay Bhattacharya, the people who lived it reveal who decided to keep schools closed, and why. The film examines how $189.5 billion in federal ESSER funds for schools was tied to extended closures, leading to devastating social and academic outcomes for children.
Murakhver recorded nearly 60 on-the-record interviews over three years. 15 DAYS preserves the voices of those who fought to reopen schools and serves as a historical record to protect future generations.
The film is dedicated to Noah Sylvester, who, as a high schooler, suffered immensely during the school closures and took his own life in May 2025 at the age of 21.
The facts
- Running time1 hour 9 minutes
- DirectorNatalya Murakhver
- PremiereOn X, September 23, 2025
- StreamingSince March 13, 2026
- AudienceOver 1 million views on X
- IMDb rating8.4
- ScreeningsDozens across the country
- In librariesCornell University, UNC Charlotte and more
- InterviewsNearly 60, on the record
- Recommended forAges 14 and up
In the film
Doctors, scholars, journalists and advocates
Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD
NIH Director
Scott Atlas, MD
Senior Fellow, Stanford University
Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg
Physician and epidemiologist
Monica Gandhi, MD, MPH
Professor of Medicine, UCSF
Anya Kamenetz
Former NPR education reporter
Martin Gurri
Former CIA analyst, author of The Revolt of the Public
Nicholas Kardaras, PhD
Psychologist, screen addiction specialist
Morgan Polikoff, PhD
Professor of Education, USC
Jenin Younes
Constitutional lawyer
Tiffany Justice
Indian River County, FL
Maud Maron
New York, NY
Alex Gutentag
Former Oakland teacher
Emily Burns
Boston, MA and Austin, TX
Dana Hensley
Buffalo, NY
Paul Martino
Bucks County, PA
Students, families and coaches
Garrett “Bam” Morgan
Student athlete, Queens, NY
Hudson Donovan
Student, Harlem, NY
Kammer Brothers
Students, Baltimore, MD
Hicks Family
Harlem, NY
Pinckney Family
Queens, NY
Coach Ron Naclerio
Cardozo High School, Queens
In their words
“One day, historians will look back on the pandemic and find what we did to kids in the name of health was harmful, unethical, and as Scandinavia showed us, unnecessary.”
Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg
“I was learning Spanish so well in school, but then, bam, the pandemic suddenly came out and then school ended. And then I started forgetting a bunch of things that I learned school. So it was really hard to remember everything”
Hudson Donovan, age 6
“It was frustrating to see parents speaking out, being ignored, and then being vilified for being upset about being silenced.”
Tiffany Justice
“Covid shut down my experience of basketball,” he said. “I missed out on a lot of opportunities… the last two years I could have been training with a professional trainer or I could have been on a regular team…”
Robert Livingston, age 15
“Almost all the U.S. governors closed their schools. This was a tragic, heinous abuse of public policy…probably the most unethical break of social contract with our children, really in any documented history of Western civilization.”
Dr. Scott Atlas
“I remember when the pandemic rules of closing everything for 15 days was put in, and then you blink, and it was 25 months later and counting.”
Coach Ron Naclerio
“It was disheartening to see the devotion of so many of my neighbors, my colleagues and California state officials to these policies that have not stopped California from facing very high rates of Covid infection, very high rates of death from Covid in older populations, and also extended time for children away from schools with basically nothing of value to show for it.”
Dr. Jay Bhattacharya
Stories from the film
More on the Substack
The Shot That Never Came
Exclusive clips from 15 DAYS on Garrett “Bam” Morgan, the Queens athlete who lost his season when public school sports shut down.
Bam Morgan on the season school closures took from him
On the first anniversary of 15 DAYS, Bam and co-producer Stephanie Edmonds talk about what the closures cost public school athletes.
The winningest coach in high school basketball
Coach Ron Naclerio of Cardozo High School became the winningest basketball coach in New York State history, years after closures locked his gym.
The filmmakers
Natalya Murakhver is the director of 15 DAYS and co-founder of Restore Childhood. During the pandemic, she founded the #KeepNYCSchoolsOpen movement and filed the only lawsuit against Mayor Bill de Blasio to reopen New York City’s schools. Her films are 15 DAYS and Uncancellable.
- DirectorNatalya Murakhver
- ProducersNatalya Murakhver and Hawk Jensen
- Executive producersDana Hensley, Scott Davison and Ram Duriseti
- Co-executive producersEli Steele and Emily Burns
- Co-producersStephanie Edmonds and Megan Swados
- Cinematography and editingStephanie Edmonds
- Assistant editingAntonio Flores
- MusicScott McRae
- Sound designDedric Terry
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