American Doctor: A Deeply Human Look into Frontline Workers in Gaza

Sundance Film Review: American Doctor
Director: Poh Si Teng
Watermelon Pictures
Premiere: 01.23.2026

American Doctor wastes no time getting to the point. The film opens on a scene of bloodied Palestinian children being carted into a hospital, as a group of adults crowd around them with cameras like paparazzi — simply so the world can see what is happening in Gaza. The following moments are a heart-wrenching flurry of destruction, suffering and chaos. The woman seated next to me shielded her eyes for the first 15 minutes before seeing herself out. It’s not easy to watch. But as one subject of the film puts it, “Their bodies tell the story. This is what your tax dollars did.” 

American Doctor follows three surgeons, each on their personal journeys to provide relief work in Gaza. First is Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, a Zoroastrian from California who, despite having no personal connections to Palestine, feels compelled to help out of a sense of duty. Then there’s Dr. Mark Perlmutter, a Jewish doctor from North Carolina who grew up as a supporter of Israel, until his own experiences in Gaza turned him into a staunch anti-Zionist. Finally there’s Dr. Thaer Ahmad, a Palestinian doctor from Chicago who wants nothing more than to help and advocate for his people. While each doctor has their own unique story and background, they each share a deep love for the people of Gaza and a desire to help them. But their experiences are distinct. 

Dr. Sidhwa says he has a hard time forming relationships because he gets so involved in his humanitarian work. Dr. Perlmutter is perhaps the most outspoken of the bunch, calling the genocide a “disease” and vehemently confronting Zionism in a way that the other doctors simply can’t, due to his Jewish identity. And perhaps most tragically, Dr. Ahmad is never once allowed passage into Gaza, due to the IDF’s stringent restrictions. He instead does everything in his power to support the cause from the States. Regardless of background, however, they are all united in their desire to help provide much needed medical aid to Palestinians, even as their own hospital comes under fire from Israeli airstrikes.

American Doctor features some of the most shocking images of Gaza’s destruction that I have ever seen. Drones shots show miles of what was once a vibrant city, reduced to piles of rubble. Shots from a vehicle show skeletons of towers looming above — reduced to nothing but bits of concrete dangling precariously from rebar. These haunting images viscerally paint Gaza as the apocalyptic wasteland that Israel has turned it into over the last two years. But more shocking yet is the inclusion of dozens of uncensored videos of the aftermath of Israeli airstrikes, which never get easier to watch, no matter how many videos you’ve seen circulated on the internet.

But not everything about American Doctor is overwhelmingly depressing. Director Poh Si Teng is sure to include the small moments of joy — playing with children, embracing other doctors, making small jokes — which are the motivation to keep these doctors going. There are a few moments where Poh’s direction comes across a bit heavy-handed, with musical cues that are distracting, but her courage and commitment to gathering all of this footage under such dangerous circumstances is nothing short of commendable.

There’s a poignant moment towards the end of the film where Dr. Ahmad FaceTimes his children while sitting on a mountaintop in Jordan, mere miles from the Palestinian border. He tries to explain to his children that their homeland is there in the distance, though he worries they may never truly understand. Even with the current and quite tenuous ceasefire, it’s hard to say what the future holds for Palestinians and whether they’ll ever be allowed to live peacefully in their homeland. Still, Dr. Ahmad never gives up hope; he only searches for ways to help. As the sun disappears over the horizon, he poses one simple question: “Did you do everything you could?” —Seth Turek

Read more of SLUG’s coverage of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival.