As conflict and humanitarian crisis intersect, American Doctor, directed by Oscar-nominated and Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Poh Si Teng, follows three American physicians whose shared commitment to saving lives transcends religion, politics, and nationality.
The documentary centers on Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Dr. Mark Perlmutter, and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, three doctors from Palestinian, Jewish, and Zoroastrian backgrounds who volunteer in Gaza before bringing their firsthand experiences back to the United States.
American Doctor made its world premiere in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before continuing its festival run with screenings at SXSW, Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, Hot Docs, Seattle International Film Festival, and numerous international festivals, including Doc Edge, Sydney Film Festival, DC/DOX, and the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival.
The film will open theatrically in New York and Toronto on August 14, 2026, with Los Angeles following on August 21 and additional U.S. cities expanding later in the month and into September through distributor Watermelon Pictures.
According to the official film website, “American Doctor is a vérité non-fiction film following three prominent physicians, Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian, friends who couldn’t be more different but are bound by their shared oath to save lives. Dr. Thaer Ahmad is measured and strategic, Dr. Mark Perlmutter is blunt and wears his heart on his sleeve, and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is media-savvy and prolific. Filmed in unfolding, on-the-ground scenes, the story follows them from a Gazan hospital under siege, to the halls of Congress. Together they fight to keep a promise to their Palestinian colleagues and patients, to continue the struggle where it matters most: the United States.”
Speaking about what inspired the project, director Poh Si Teng explained: “A year into the genocide with no end in sight, I was full of despair. As a former documentary commissioner for Al Jazeera English, I was heartbroken from seeing colleagues, journalists that I respected being targeted and executed. It was also extremely frustrating to see how Gaza and Palestine was being covered by mainstream media. It was a conscious decision to tell the story through participants, whose professionalism and integrity was unimpeachable. Hence the doctors. They are indeed extremely different, but are all bound by the shared oath to save lives.”
Writing for Variety, critic Murtada Elfadl praised the documentary as “a necessary watch because it dares its audience not to look away, forcing the question not only of whose story is told, but whose deaths matter and make headlines.”
Watch the official trailer for American Doctor above.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.