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The Big Sip
Image: Netflix
Police bodycam documentaries are gaining prominence in streaming and awards.
Emmy winner Geeta Gandbhir's The Perfect Neighbor topped Netflix's global charts on 19 October 2025, two days post-release, using only bodycam recordings, 911 calls, and security footage to reconstruct the 2 June 2023 killing of Ajike "AJ" Owens in Florida.
The 96-minute film with zero talking heads earned a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, a Sundance Directing Award, and Oscar buzz.
Producers and prosecutors are taking notice. Bodycams provide courtroom evidence and shape public opinion.
Watch for: State legislatures revisiting Stand Your Ground statutes after door-shooting cases, prosecutor offices issuing guidance on full-tape releases, and streaming platforms buying more bodycam-only projects before the format becomes widespread in awards season.
[Analysis] Time summarises the case facts, racial context, and legal arc. Published 18 Oct 2025
The documentary chronicles white neighbor Susan Lorincz shooting Owens, a Black mother of four, through Lorincz's own locked door after Owens knocked to confront her about throwing a roller skate at Owens' 10-year-old son. Lorincz claimed self-defense under Florida's Stand Your Ground law.
The locked-door detail matters: you can't claim mortal fear while hiding behind your own deadbolt. The bodycam made that absurdity a courtroom fact, not prosecutorial spin.
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