Purchase Alum Geeta Gandbhir Makes History With Two Oscar Nominations

By Emilia Mariol

Geeta Gandbhir at 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where she won the documentary directing award for “The Perfect Neighbor.” Adam Chitayat, via Wikimedia Commons

Geeta Gandbhir, an Emmy award-winning documentarian and Purchase College alumna, was among the nominees Sunday, March 15, for Best Documentary Feature at the 2026 Academy Awards for her film “The Perfect Neighbor”. The award ultimately went to “Mr. Nobody Against Putin,” directed by David Borenstein and Pavel Talankin.

Still, Gandbhir’s nominations marked a historic milestone in her career, as she became the first woman to be nominated for two Academy Awards for separate documentaries in the same year, also earning recognition for “The Devil Is Busy” in the documentary short film category.

            “The Perfect Neighbor” follows the story of a fatal shooting incident that took place in a Florida neighborhood in 2023. The story brings attention to issues surrounding systematic bias in how Florida’s stand-your-ground laws are applied. Using police body camera footage, interviews, and archival material, Gandbhir reconstructs evidence of the case in chronological order. She presents multiple perspectives on how conflicts can intensify in everyday places. The film also shows how systems of law enforcement interact with personal disputes and how ordinary encounters can turn tragic. KyleBuchanan, a New York Times reporter who covers awards season, predicted that Gandbhir would win for “The Perfect Neighbor,” though he hedged his own bet, noting that she had not won some awards in the run-up to Sunday’s Oscars ceremony.

            Her other nominated film, co-directed by Christalyn Hampton, follows an Atlanta abortion clinic surrounded by protesters. The documentary centers on Tracii, the clinic’s head of security, capturing a day in her life as she navigates the safety measures required to protect patients and staff. The film offers a close look of the shifting realities for woman's healthcare facilities and reproductive care after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Buchanan also singled out this Gandbhir entry, in February, calling it “the strongest of nominees.”

    Since graduating from Purchase College in 1992 with a bachelor’s in liberal arts/women’s studies, Gandbhir has built a career in documentary filmmaking. With a dedication to showing systematic inequality through real people and their experiences, Gandbhir’s work has earned numerous honors throughout her career, including multiple Emmy awards. She continues to establish herself as a prominent voice in documentary storytelling.

            While the Oscar ultimately went to another film, Gandbhir’s dual nominations reflect the growing impact of her work. Her films continue to shed light on complex social issues while allowing voices often left out of mainstream narratives to have a platform. Gandbhir has reinforced her reputation as one of the most influential documentary filmmakers working today.

            “The Perfect Neighbor” is available on Netflix. Here is the trailer.