Oscar®-nominated director Geeta Gandbhir joins our Academy Award Documentary Spotlight to discuss THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR and the making of this year’s Best Documentary Feature nominee.
“Get off my lawn.”
It’s something many of us heard as kids after wandering onto a neighbor’s property. Back then, it rarely escalated beyond a shouted warning.
But in post-pandemic America, rising social isolation, fear of crime, expanding “stand your ground” laws, and easy access to firearms have created a far more volatile landscape — where minor conflicts can turn tragic.
In her Oscar-nominated documentary THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR, director Geeta Gandbhir examines one such devastating case.
Constructed almost entirely from police body camera footage, THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR unfolds with the tension of a thriller and the inevitability of a tragedy. What begins as a neighborhood dispute reveals deeper issues of race, fear, gun laws, and systemic failure — culminating in a loss that feels both shocking and heartbreakingly predictable.
Nominated for the Academy Award® for Best Documentary Feature, THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR is one of the most urgent and talked-about documentaries of the year.
On this episode of INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, Geeta Gandbhir discusses the ethical responsibility of building a film from police body cam footage, the broader cultural climate that shaped this tragedy, the challenges of documentary filmmaking in an era of viral violence, and what she ultimately hopes audiences take away from the film.
This conversation is part of our ongoing series featuring all of this year’s Oscar-nominated documentary filmmakers.
Join us for our interview with Geeta Gandbhir about THE PERFECT NEIGHBOR, on INSIDE THE ARTHOUSE, starting now.