By Paul Salfen AMFM Magazine November 10, 2025
In the week since its Netflix debut, The Perfect Neighbor has held the top spot on the streaming giant’s charts, a testament to its raw power and unflinching gaze into the heart of American suburbia. Directed by Geeta Gandbhir, the documentary dissects a seemingly innocuous neighborhood dispute in Florida that spirals into lethal violence, laying bare the perils of the state’s “stand your ground” laws through a mosaic of police bodycam footage, 911 calls, dash cams, and Ring doorbells. What could have devolved into a dry historical recap instead pulses with the tension of a horror thriller, thanks in no small part to editor Viridiana Lieberman’s masterful assembly. World-premiering at Sundance 2025, where it snagged the U.S. Documentary Directing Award, the film transforms archival detritus into a real-time descent into chaos—one that forces viewers to confront not just the incident, but the classism, racism, economic divides, and unchecked gun culture that fuel it.
Brooklyn-based Lieberman, whose resume reads like a who’s-who of impactful nonfiction, brought her signature precision to the project. She’s the Emmy-winning editor behind The Sentence, I Am Evidence, Lowndes County and the Road to Black Power, and the Oscar-shortlisted Call Center Blues. Her work on Through Our Eyes: Apart and Sony Pictures Classics’ Carlos showcases her knack for weaving personal narratives into broader societal reckonings, while ESPN’s 30 for 30 entry Breakaway and The Criterion Channel’s Queer Futures series highlight her versatility across platforms. An avid women’s sports enthusiast, Lieberman made her directorial bow with Born To Play (2020), which followed a semi-pro women’s tackle football team and stemmed from her book Sports Heroines on Film (McFarland), a deep dive into cinematic portrayals of female athletes. At its core, her ethos is simple yet profound: to pioneer storytelling forms that root in character-driven tales, reshaping not just our screens but our collective vision of the world we aspire to build.
In a recent conversation with AMFM Magazine, Lieberman opened up about the film’s improbable journey—from Freedom of Information Act battles to its unexpected cultural thunderclap—while reflecting on the editor’s role in an era of omnipresent surveillance. As the Critics Choice Documentary Awards loom this weekend, where The Perfect Neighbor is a frontrunner, her excitement is palpable. “I’ve never been part of a doc that’s reached this many people,” she says. “There’s layers to why that’s thrilling—the work it can do, but also how we did it.”
The spark for the film traces back to a personal connection: Jones, the central figure in the tragedy, was a family friend of Gandbhir’s. In the chaotic aftermath, the director mobilized to Florida, enlisting lawyers to sue the local police department under public records laws. Their initial goal? Bolster a potential case, as arrest seemed uncertain. What they unearthed was a goldmine: 30 hours of unvarnished material that Lieberman likens to “a thrilling challenge.” “Bringing it together—body cams, dash cams, 911 calls, Ring cams, canvassing interviews—was one of the most demanding experiences of my editing life,” she recalls. “We had to build a fully realized narrative from these specific, raw elements.”
Acquiring the footage wasn’t straightforward. “It’s not like you can just ask the police for controversial body cam reels,” Lieberman notes with a wry laugh. Yet in an age where Amazon sells $30 body cams and Meta’s smart glasses capture every glance, she sees a silver lining amid the dystopia. “Body cam footage is often weaponized as surveillance,” she explains. “We flipped that intentionally, using it as a personal lens to portrait a neighborhood. Our phones are flip books of our lives now—the stakes for how we tell these stories are only getting higher. We’re the ones choosing what to remember.”
That archival alchemy elevates The Perfect Neighbor beyond mere evidence dump. Gandbhir and Lieberman’s pacing builds dread like a slasher flick: cuts that quicken the pulse, frames that linger on unspoken tensions, a crescendo that mirrors the incident’s inexorable pull. “We presented it as the evidence itself—a 360-degree view,” Lieberman says. “It’s engaging with ‘stand your ground,’ but also classism, racism, economic strata, policing, gun violence, mental health. There’s no single takeaway; it’s multifaceted, opening nuance for self-reflection and community dialogue.”
For aspiring storytellers eyeing Lieberman’s path, her advice cuts through the romance of the edit bay. “Just make stuff,” she urges. “Trust the audience—meet the footage where it is, observe through discovery. Don’t force your story into a box or algorithm; follow your instincts to the truth.” It’s a ethos born from her own “Hail Mary” moment: assisting on Gandbhir’s earlier project, where raw hunger propelled her from organizer-in-the-shadows to full editor credit. “I cut without permission, pestered everyone. Geeta trusted me, gave me the shot. That led to The Sentence, which put me on the map. It was about saying what I wanted and earning it.”
Today, at a career inflection, Lieberman embodies the success mindset she preaches: a fierce love for the craft, validated by a supportive community. “I’ve been lucky with the filmmakers I’ve worked with,” she reflects. “Now, I’m excited to mentor, pull others up. It’s this beautiful clash—earning my place while lifting the next wave.”
As The Perfect Neighbor surges—sparking policy debates and watercooler reckonings—Lieberman hopes it proves archival filmmaking’s dual edge: investigative rigor meets pulse-pounding cinema. “These are the movies that make change,” she says. “And it’s already happening.” With awards season buzzing and new doors swinging open, one thing’s clear: Viridiana Lieberman isn’t just editing stories—she’s etching them into our shared conscience.
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