Gandbhir is nominated for Best Documentary Feature for The Perfect Neighbor and Best Documentary Short Film for The Devil is Busy, both competing at this year’s ceremony scheduled to take place in Los Angeles.
The dual nomination places her in a select group of only six individuals in the nearly century-long history of the Oscars to be nominated in both documentary categories in the same year. Legendary animator Walt Disney famously achieved a similar milestone in 1954 when he won four Oscars in one night, including awards for The Living Desert and The Alaskan Eskimo.
Beyond joining this exclusive list, Gandbhir has also broken new ground by becoming the first woman to receive nominations in both documentary categories in the same year.
Reacting to the recognition, the filmmaker described the moment as overwhelming and deeply rewarding, noting that both nominations were beyond what she initially expected.
According to Gandbhir, she intentionally chose to sleep through the live announcement of the nominations to avoid the anxiety that comes with watching the results unfold. However, she admitted she stayed awake late into the night before eventually waking up to excited calls from her husband—who also worked as a producer on The Perfect Neighbor—and friends celebrating the news.
The two nominated documentaries tackle socially sensitive issues in the United States.
The Devil is Busy, which is available on HBO Max, follows a day inside an abortion clinic in Atlanta, highlighting the risks faced by staff and patients through the perspective of a security guard amid a shifting political climate around reproductive rights.
Meanwhile, The Perfect Neighbor, currently streaming on Netflix, reconstructs a tragic case using police body-camera footage to tell the story of a young mother who was fatally shot by a neighbour after repeated complaints to police about children playing near her home.
If either film wins on Oscar night, Gandbhir said she would share the moment with collaborators, including co-director Christalyn Hampton on The Devil is Busy.
Double nominations at the Oscars remain extremely rare across all categories. In recent years, actors such as Emma Stone and Cate Blanchett have also achieved multiple nominations in a single year for different projects.
As anticipation builds ahead of the ceremony, Gandbhir’s achievement has already secured her place in Oscar history, regardless of the final outcome on awards night.
Below is the list of the six individuals who have received nominations for both Best Documentary Short and Best Documentary Feature in the same year.
Geeta Gandbhir
2025 – The Perfect Neighbor (feature) and The Devil Is Busy (short)
Eric Nyari
2024 – Black Box Diaries (feature) and Instruments of a Beating Heart (short)
Charles Guggenheim
1994 – D-Day Remembered (feature) and A Time for Justice (short)
Ben Sharpsteen
1958 – White Wilderness (feature, won) and Ama Girls (short, won)
Louis Clyde Stoumen
1956 – The Naked Eye (feature) and The True Story of the Civil War (short, won)
Walt Disney
1953 – The Living Desert (feature, won) and The Alaskan Eskimo (short, won)