“American Doctor” Is an Indictment of US Leadership and Media
The new documentary follows three humanitarian physicians as they grapple with the horrors of the US-funded genocide in Gaza.
An American documentary, American Doctor, released in 2026, has sparked controversy and criticism regarding the US's leadership and media portrayal of the Gaza crisis. The film, directed by Poh Si Teng, follows three American physicians - Mark Perlmutter, a Jewish orthopedic surgeon; Feroze Sidhwa, a Zoroastrian trauma surgeon; and Thaer Ahmad, an emergency physician of Palestinian heritage - as they provide medical aid to civilians in the under-resourced Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, Gaza.
The documentary uses the testimonies of these physicians as irrefutable evidence of the atrocities committed in Gaza. Despite its completion and screening at the Sundance Film Festival, the film has only recently been distributed by Watermelon Pictures for wider audience reach. The documentary has been released in the same year it was completed, indicating a sense of urgency to expose the harsh realities faced by the civilians in Gaza.
Israel has consistently denied Ahmad entry into Gaza since 2024 due to his Palestinian heritage, despite his role as a humanitarian aid worker. The film sheds light on the difficulties these American doctors face in delivering medical assistance to the suffering population amidst the crumbling hospital infrastructure and the political barriers set by Israel.
By presenting the physicians' accounts, American Doctor aims to shed light on the cruelty inflicted on Gaza and question the US's leadership and media's response to the crisis.
Written by urgent.news from Hyperallergic's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
