In her latest documentary film, Emmy Award–winning director Geeta Gandbhir (Katrina: Come Hell and High Water) confronts viewers with the stark realities of “stand your ground” laws. Now streaming on Netflix, The Perfect Neighbor explores a tight-knit community experiencing relentless harassment by a neighbor whose hostility escalates into a fatal crime. Using police bodycam footage to reveal in-the-moment conversations between law enforcement and neighbors, the film illustrates the impact of these controversial yet widely common laws.
“The Perfect Neighbor is a deeply personal project, created to transform grief into purpose and honor the lasting legacy of Ajike Owens and her family,” Gandbhir said. “My team at Message Pictures, along with our incredible partners at SO’B Productions and Park Pictures, are thrilled the film will be available on Netflix, offering audiences worldwide the chance to experience this urgent and powerful story.”
The Perfect Neighbor made its world premiere at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where it was awarded the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary. It has screened at the SXSW Film Festival, CPH:DOX, the Miami Film Festival, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, where it received a Special Jury Award, and at Sheffield DocFest. It will screen at the New York Film Festival this fall.
The film is produced by Alisa Payne, Gandbhir, and Nikon Kwantu for Message Pictures, alongside Sam Bisbee for Park Pictures. Executive producers include Sam Pollard for Message Pictures, Soledad O’Brien and Rose Arce for SO’B Productions, Jackie Kelman Bisbee and Wendy Neu for Park Pictures, and Takema Robinson.
The Perfect Neighbor premiered on Netflix on Oct. 17. Stream it now.
For a first look at The Perfect Neighbor, check out the trailer at the top of the page.
For more on the film’s gripping conclusion head over to our deep dive featuring the perspectives of Gandbhir and the filmmaking team.
Yes! On Jan. 22, the film was nominated for an Academy Award for Documentary Feature Film. Additionally, the documentary has been recognized with a Producers Guild of America Award nomination for Best Documentary and a Film Independent Spirit Award notice for Best Documentary Feature.
In addition to winning the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, the film won five awards at the 10th Annual Critics Choice Documentary Awards including Best Documentary Feature, Best Director, Best Archival Documentary, Best True Crime Documentary, and Best Editing, as well as a Best Editing nomination at the Critics Choice Movie Awards. The Perfect Neighbor has also earned a nomination for Best Documentary Film at the upcoming Gotham Independent Film Awards.
Gandbhir’s film was one of the documentaries honored at the Albie Awards, which recognizes documentary filmmakers whose work pushes nonfiction storytelling forward in the name of social justice.
The Perfect Neighbor is now streaming.
Told primarily through police bodycam footage and recordings, The Perfect Neighbor’s captivating and intense real-time investigation of a fatal neighborhood dispute delves into issues of race, prejudice, policing, and gun ownership in America.
