Summary
-
The Perfect Neighbor reconstructs the killing of Ajike “AJ” Owens using police bodycam, 911 audio and interviews to show how neighborhood disputes escalated.
-
The film follows the Owens family’s search for answers; the shooter, Susan Lorincz, was arrested days after the June 2, 2023 shooting and later convicted and sentenced to 25 years.
-
Director Geeta Gandbhir and producers framed the story as a study of small-town conflict, race and policy — and the film premiered at Sundance, winning the U.S. documentary directing award before streaming on Netflix.
The Perfect Neighbor turns a neighborhood dispute into a close, disturbing study of how everyday tensions can become deadly. Told largely through body-worn camera footage, 911 calls and family testimony, Geeta Gandbhir’s documentary follows the killing of Ajike “AJ” Owens in Ocala, Florida, the community fallout, and the legal aftermath that closed the case with a conviction and long prison sentence.
How does The Perfect Neighbor show what led to the shooting?
Gandbhir’s film pieces together a timeline from police bodycam footage, 911 audio and interviews gathered through Freedom of Information requests. That structure intentionally removes traditional cinematic distance: viewers experience events from the police and bystander vantage, moment by moment, tracing the escalation between neighbors over more than two years. The filmmakers obtained hours of footage and assembled it to show how small conflicts — complaints about children playing in a vacant lot, repeated 911 calls, and bitter exchanges — mapped onto a larger pattern of harassment and growing hostility.
The film does not show the gunshot itself. Instead it builds the before-and-after: the children playing on the shared lot, the repeated calls made by one neighbor, and the community members who tried to intervene or simply live their lives. This deliberate editing choice keeps the moment of violence off-screen while making clear how the dispute became a crisis. It also centers the family especially Ajike Owens’s mother, Pamela Dias allowing personal testimony and family photos to humanize the victim beyond headlines.
READ MORE: Deliver Me From Nowhere Soundtrack: Every Song Listed
What happens at the end of The Perfect Neighbor and in the real case?
At the film’s close, the legal and human consequences of the killing are plainly stated: on June 2, 2023, Ajike “AJ” Owens was shot outside a neighbor’s home in Ocala after a confrontation that had been building for months. Deputies responded to 911 calls and found a scene that quickly moved from a domestic dispute to a homicide investigation. The shooter, Susan Louise Lorincz, was arrested days later and charged. Public outrage followed, partly because local authorities delayed charging her while assessing claims of self-defense under Florida law.
The criminal case concluded in 2024 with a jury finding Lorincz guilty of manslaughter with a firearm. She was sentenced to 25 years in prison. The film closes with the weight of that outcome and the family’s continuing grief, while also documenting the broader public reaction — protests, legal questions about “stand your ground” defenses, and calls for policy change. That legal arc — from incident to conviction — provides the documentary’s final factual frame.
READ MORE: Deliver Me from Nowhere – How Accurate Is the Bruce Springsteen Biopic?
Why does the film focus on bodycam footage, and what does that choice change?
Using body camera footage as primary material gives the film forensic clarity. It removes a narrator’s omniscience and asks viewers to track detail and tone the same way officers on scene did. This approach does two things: it makes procedural choices and responses visible, and it shows how everyday policing and community calls can normalize escalation. The filmmakers’ use of FOIA-sourced video and audio emphasizes transparency and lets the footage raise questions about how authorities and neighbors responded to repeated complaints.
Because the film largely avoids reenactment, it resists sensationalizing the moment of violence. Instead, it turns the camera toward the texture of everyday life and argument: the small, recurring incidents that set the stage, and how a neighborhood that once felt safe can unravel. That framing keeps the family central, while prompting viewers to consider the social and legal conditions that enabled the fatal confrontation.
READ MORE: Hazbin Hotel Season 2: Every Confirmed Character and Voice Actor So Far
Who made the film and how did the Owens family participate?
The Perfect Neighbor was directed by Geeta Gandbhir and produced by Gandbhir, Nikon Kwantu, Alisa Payne and Sam Bisbee. The project grew from a personal link: Kwantu’s relative, activist Takema Robinson, introduced the filmmakers to the Owens family following Ajike Owens’s death. Gandbhir describes the project as built on trust; Pamela Dias, AJ’s mother, supported the film from the start to honor her daughter’s life and to push for accountability. The filmmakers say they maintained regular contact with the family to ensure consent and sensitivity during production.
That family-centered approach shapes the film’s moral force. Rather than turning tragedy into spectacle, the documentary centers grief, memory and the family’s effort to seek justice including efforts to compel disclosure of official footage and audio that would illuminate the sequence of events.
READ MORE: Complete Cast And Character List of Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
The Perfect Neighbor premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Geeta Gandbhir won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. After a festival run that included screenings at other major documentary festivals, the film had a limited theatrical window and then streamed widely on Netflix in October 2025.
Source: Netflix
Stay updated with the Latest News and Stories, follow us on our social media platforms.
You can follow us on:
Stay Connected!! Join our Whatsapp Channel
