Netflix's Perfect Neighbor
Netflix has finalized its acquisition of one of the biggest standouts from this year’s Sundance lineup, The Perfect Neighbor, a documentary feature from Geeta Gandbhir for $5 M.
A truly inventive film, The Perfect Neighbor, follows a petty disagreement between Florida neighbors that takes a fatal turn, shot entirely from police body cam footage. The film details the real killing of Ajike “AJ” Owens, a middle-aged Florida native who was shot by her much older neighbor, Susan Lorincz.
Pushing the boundaries of nonfiction storytelling, Gandbhir explained how she approached the footage, saying:
“We got our hands on the body cam footage, and we realized how critical it was to show the before of this story. We often see the aftermath of such a tragedy, right? But how rarely do we see the community and the family as they were before?”
The film begins with the horrific murder, and instead of showing the disruption it caused after the fact, it shows the moments that led up to it, highlighting issues like racial tensions and community divisions throughout.
Beginning in narrative work, Gandbhir has seen most success through documentary work with her short film from the HBO series Through Our Eyes, which won a 2022 Emmy Award for Outstanding Short Documentary. Netflix is yet to announce a streaming date for The Perfect Neighbor.
The film is EP’d by Emmy and Peabody Award-winning director Sam Pollard who has directed some of the most powerful documentaries about the African American experience:
MLK/FBI (2021, premiered at the Toronto Film Festival)
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Bill Russell: Legend (2024, Netflix)
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No word yet on release date for The Perfect Neighbor.
