Official trailer
“An institutional autopsy with a pulse.”
“An agonizing anatomy of a public policy scandal.”
“The film has the facts, and outrage, on its side.”
Watch 15 DAYS
Stream
With a membership
Watch on the Restore Childhood Substack. Every membership funds the next film.
Watch on SubstackRent or buy
On your platform
Available on the major streaming stores.
Own it
Blu-ray, DVD and 4K
Also the 11 x 17 poster. From $20.
Every purchase supports Restore Childhood, the nonprofit that presents 15 DAYS.
About the film
15 DAYS: The Real Story of America’s Pandemic School Closures is a documentary revealing why America’s school closures lasted longer than almost any other nation. Director Natalya 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.
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.
Read more about the filmThe evidence
- 7 ptsDrop in math for 9-year-olds from 2020 to 2022, the first decline ever recorded.NAEP
- ½ gradeHow far behind 2019 levels the average U.S. student still was in spring 2024.Harvard and Stanford
- 23.5%Students chronically absent in 2024, up from about 15% before the pandemic.AEI
In their words
“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
“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.”
Hudson Donovan, age 6
“Almost all the U.S. governors closed their schools. This was a tragic, heinous abuse of public policy…”
Dr. Scott Atlas
In the film
Meet everyone in the film
Jay Bhattacharya, MD, PhD
NIH Director
Scott Atlas, MD
Senior Fellow, Stanford University
Dr. Tracy Beth Høeg
Physician and epidemiologist
Anya Kamenetz
Former NPR education reporter
Martin Gurri
Former CIA analyst, author of The Revolt of the Public
Maud Maron
New York, NY
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
Coming to 15daysfilm.com
The 15 DAYS Digital Museum
A permanent, searchable archive of the nearly 60 on-the-record interviews recorded for the film. The full stories of the students, families, coaches and doctors who lived through the closures, kept in one place for good.
Tell me when it opensHost a screening
15 DAYS has had dozens of screenings across the country. Bring it to your school, library, house of worship or theater.
- Book on Kinema.Request your date in a few minutes.
- Set your ticket price.You share in every ticket sold.
- Show the film.Kinema handles tickets, RSVPs and payouts.
Schools, colleges and libraries: licenses from $150
Stay informed
Be among the first to know about screenings of the film along with updates, information and other events.