‘American Doctor’ Unveils Trailer, Sets Theatrical Release Date; Award-Winning Film Follows U.S. Physicians Who Treated Children Badly Wounded In Gaza
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- American Doctor opens in New York and Toronto on August 14, followed by Los Angeles a week later, Atlanta/Santa Barbara/San Diego/San Francisco on August 28, and further expansion in September, distributed by Watermelon Pictures.
- Poh Si Teng directs the documentary, produced by Oscar nominee Kirstine Barfod and Reed Haddad, centering on three American physicians — Dr. Mark Perlmutter, Dr. Thaer Ahmad, and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa — who volunteered in besieged Gaza hospitals treating grievously injured Palestinian children.
- The film won audience awards at the Sydney Film Festival and Biografilm in Bologna plus a Special Mention at CPH:DOX's HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD category, after premiering in Sundance's U.S. Documentary Competition.
- Dr. Perlmutter told Deadline that their Gaza experience was "collectively far worse" than other mass casualty events they'd worked, including 9/11, Haiti, and Ukraine, calling it "the largest pediatric homicide in our lifetimes."
- The three doctors appear back home in the U.S. lobbying Congress and appearing on American media to argue against U.S. military aid to Israel, with Dr. Sidhwa stating in the trailer: "The United States could stop sending jet fuel, bombs, all sorts of weapons... This is a political problem; we need a political solution."
- Teng recounted at CPH:DOX that when she first proposed the film, industry figures told her "it cannot be done" because of the subject matter, prompting her retort: "I get a real thrill when somebody tells me it cannot be done."
Why it matters: The film converts firsthand Gaza testimony — including Dr. Perlmutter's comparison of the pediatric casualties to 9/11 and worse — into a political lobbying vehicle targeting U.S. policy and military aid to Israel, with a 10-city August rollout positioning it for awards-season visibility after wins at Sydney, Biografilm, and CPH:DOX.
