Documentary follows U.S. doctors risking lives in Gaza hospitals amid Israeli attacks
The film “American Doctor” tracks three American physicians volunteering in Gaza’s hospitals while Israeli forces bomb medical facilities, and shows their attempts to sway U.S. policymakers and media.
Filmmaker Poh Si Teng’s documentary “American Doctor,” now in U.S. theaters and slated for a 2027 Oscar nomination, chronicles three U.S. doctors who travel to Gaza to work in hospitals amid relentless Israeli bombing of health workers and patients. The subjects—Palestinian-American emergency physician Thaer Ahmad, trauma surgeon Feroze Sidhwa, and Jewish orthopedic surgeon Mark Perlmutter—bring extensive humanitarian experience but encounter entry bans and direct targeting by the Israeli army.
The film documents their departures from families, their frontline medical work, and their subsequent lobbying trips to the U.S. Capitol, where meetings with Republican senators Thom Tillis and Ted Cruz yield scant support. It also depicts their media outreach, including a contested one outlet's interview about injured children. While showing civilian casualties, the director argues for a measured portrayal to avoid alienating viewers, emphasizing the moral duty of American taxpayers. The documentary has screened at Sundance, CPH:DOX, Thessaloniki, Visions du Réel and Hot Docs, and streams on Watermelon+.
Why it matters
It highlights the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the challenges of U.S. involvement and public awareness.
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