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Geeta Gandbhir earns two Oscar nods
The Indian-American filmmaker was recognized in feature and short film categories.
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Anushka Pathak - Thu, 22, Jan 2026
- 16:36 EST
- 34
Indian-American filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir / Courtesy: IMDb
Indian-American filmmaker Geeta Gandbhir earned her first Academy Award nominations on Jan. 22, receiving two nods for the 98th Oscars.
Her work was recognized in both documentary feature and documentary short film categories by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
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Her documentary feature 'The Perfect Neighbor' was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film, while 'The Devil Is Busy,' which she co-directed with Christalyn Hampton, earned a nomination in the Best Documentary Short Film category.
'The Perfect Neighbor' examines the 2023 fatal shooting of Ajike Owens by Susan Louise Lorincz in Ocala, Florida, using extensive police body camera footage to explore issues including racial tensions, neighborhood conflicts, and the application of “stand your ground” laws.
The film was produced by Gandbhir along with Alisa Payne, Nikon Kwantu, and Sam Bisbee, and premiered at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, where Gandbhir won the U.S. Documentary Directing Award. The film will compete against 'The Alabama Solution,' 'Come See Me in the Good Light,' 'Cutting through Rocks,' and 'Mr. Nobody against Putin.'
The short documentary 'The Devil Is Busy,' with a runtime of 31 minutes and currently streaming on HBO Max, follows Tracii, the head of security at a women’s healthcare clinic in Atlanta, Georgia, as she works to protect patients and staff amid abortion restrictions and protests.
It is nominated alongside 'All the Empty Rooms,' 'Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud,' 'Children No More: “Were and Are Gone,”' and 'Perfectly a Strangeness.'
Gandbhir was born to Indian parents who immigrated to the United States in the 1960s. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University, where she studied visual art with a focus on animation.
Her early career was rooted in narrative filmmaking, working under mentors Spike Lee and Sam Pollard and collaborating with filmmakers including the Coen Brothers and Robert Altman, before shifting to documentary filmmaking nearly two decades ago.
Her previous work includes producing 'I Am Evidence' (2017), directing 'Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power' (2022), and helming the Emmy-winning short 'Through Our Eyes: Apart' (2022). She has received multiple Emmy and Peabody Awards for projects centered on social justice and systemic inequities.
The 98th Academy Awards ceremony will be held on March 15 at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood. India’s official submission, 'Homebound,' did not receive a nomination in the Best International Feature Film category.
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