American Doctor Documentary: Doctors, Gaza Story and Where to Watch

American Doctor is a 2026 documentary directed by Poh Si Teng. The 93-minute film follows three U.S. physicians, Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Dr. Mark Perlmutter and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, as they volunteer in hospitals in Gaza and later return to the United States determined to speak about what they witnessed. It premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival and opened in New York theaters on August 14, 2026.

As of August 24, American Doctor is playing in select theaters. The official film website directs viewers to current ticket listings, while Watermelon Pictures categorizes the documentary as an in-theaters release. A Netflix debut or broad at-home streaming release has not been announced, so listings that describe it as a Netflix documentary are inaccurate at the time of publication.

What is the American Doctor documentary about?

American Doctor is a verite-style nonfiction film about medicine, war and the responsibility of witnesses. It accompanies three American doctors from different religious and cultural backgrounds as they provide emergency care in Gaza, where hospitals are operating under extreme pressure with limited supplies and large numbers of injured patients.

The documentary does not end when the physicians leave the hospital. Its second major thread follows their return to the United States, where they speak to journalists, communities and political representatives. That movement from operating rooms to the halls of Congress gives the film its central structure. The doctors are not presented only as medical professionals treating individual patients. They also become public witnesses trying to make distant suffering understandable to an American audience.

Sundance’s coverage of the premiere describes scenes around Nasser Hospital in which medical teams face overwhelming triage decisions. The film also records the frustration the doctors experience when their testimony meets doubt, political resistance or indifference. Rather than building suspense around a hidden revelation, American Doctor asks what happens after people see a humanitarian emergency directly and then try to persuade others to respond.

Who are the three doctors in American Doctor?

The documentary centers on Thaer Ahmad, Mark Perlmutter and Feroze Sidhwa. Official materials emphasize that the men come from Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds. Their identities matter to the film, but it does not treat them as simple symbols. Each doctor has a distinct medical specialty, communication style and way of turning firsthand experience into advocacy.

Dr. Thaer Ahmad

Thaer Ahmad is a Palestinian-American emergency physician based in the Chicago area. In American Doctor, he often appears as the measured and strategic voice of the group. Emergency medicine requires quick judgment when information and resources are limited, and the documentary connects that professional discipline with the way Ahmad communicates outside the hospital.

His perspective also carries a personal dimension. Ahmad was born into a Palestinian family and speaks about years of watching repeated violence affect Palestinian communities. The film follows his continuing decision to provide care and advocate publicly even when he doubts whether audiences or institutions are prepared to listen.

Dr. Mark Perlmutter

Mark Perlmutter is a Jewish-American orthopedic surgeon from North Carolina. He is the most openly confrontational of the three doctors, speaking with an urgency that contrasts with Ahmad’s more diplomatic approach. Sundance reported that director Poh Si Teng first became interested in making the film after seeing Perlmutter discuss his experience in a television interview.

Perlmutter’s role helps establish one of the documentary’s central ideas: professional testimony can become a form of public action. He describes medical conditions, injuries and shortages in direct language, arguing that remaining silent after witnessing them would be a failure of responsibility.

Dr. Feroze Sidhwa

Feroze Sidhwa is a Zoroastrian-American trauma surgeon based in California. The film presents him as analytical and heavily focused on evidence and context. Where Perlmutter leads with blunt moral anger, Sidhwa often explains the medical and logistical details behind the doctors’ conclusions.

That difference in style prevents American Doctor from feeling like a single repeated speech. The three men agree on the urgency of protecting patients and health workers, but they reach audiences in different ways: political strategy, emotional directness and detailed documentation.

Why the film moves between medicine and politics

The title American Doctor initially sounds like the name of a conventional medical documentary. Poh Si Teng deliberately uses that familiarity. Medical dramas and hospital stories give viewers an immediate point of entry because the basic duty to save a patient is easy to understand. The film then expands that duty into a more difficult question: what should doctors do when the causes of suffering are political and the healthcare system itself is under threat?

This structure also keeps the documentary focused on people rather than abstract statistics. Viewers see the physicians making decisions under pressure, then hear them explain those experiences after returning home. The contrast shows why witnessing an event and convincing others of its meaning are two different challenges.

For another issue-driven nonfiction film about ordinary professionals confronting political pressure, read our guide to The Librarians documentary.

Who directed American Doctor?

American Doctor was directed by Malaysian-American journalist and filmmaker Poh Si Teng. It is her feature directorial debut. Before this project, Teng worked in journalism and documentary production, including roles connected with Al Jazeera English and ABC/Disney. Watermelon Pictures describes her as an Oscar-nominated and Emmy-winning filmmaker.

At Sundance, Teng explained that she left her studio position because she wanted to make a film capable of communicating the conditions in Gaza to people who might otherwise turn away. After seeing Perlmutter on television, she met him at a fundraiser and began developing the project. Perlmutter later introduced her to Ahmad and Sidhwa.

The result is not constructed as a neutral debate in which every political position receives equal screen time. American Doctor has a clear humanitarian point of view and is built around the doctors’ testimony. Viewers should understand that perspective before watching, just as they would with any documentary that openly argues for action.

Release date, festival premiere and awards

American Doctor premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2026, as part of the U.S. Documentary Competition. It later screened at SXSW and other festivals. In May, it placed first in the overall audience poll at Hot Docs and won the 2026 Hot Docs Audience Award.

The U.S. theatrical rollout began with early screenings from August 11 through August 13, followed by a New York opening on August 14. Watermelon Pictures currently lists the film as playing in select theaters. Because independent documentary releases can expand city by city, viewers should check the official ticket page rather than assume the film is available nationwide.

The documentary has also received substantial critical attention. On August 24, Rotten Tomatoes showed a 100 percent critics score from 31 reviews and a 94 percent audience score from more than 50 ratings. Those figures are a dated snapshot and will change as additional reviews and audience ratings are added.

Where can you watch American Doctor?

The most reliable place to find a screening is the official American Doctor website, which links to current theatrical tickets. The Watermelon Pictures film page also identifies it as an in-theaters title and provides information about community screening requests.

As of August 24, 2026, a general U.S. streaming, rental or digital purchase date has not been confirmed on the official film pages. Availability can change quickly after a theatrical run, so readers should verify the official site before relying on third-party listings.

Is American Doctor on Netflix?

No. American Doctor is not listed as a Netflix release as of August 24, 2026. It is currently a select-theater release distributed by Watermelon Pictures. Search interest around documentaries often adds the word ‘Netflix’ even when a title belongs to another distributor, but there is no official Netflix announcement for this film.

Can it be watched at home?

Not through a widely announced general release yet. Watermelon Pictures promotes its Watermelon+ subscription across its website, but the American Doctor page itself remains categorized under In Theaters. Until the distributor adds a film-specific watch-at-home option, viewers should not assume it is included with that service.

Content warning: is American Doctor difficult to watch?

Yes. Festival descriptions warn that American Doctor contains distressing and graphic scenes connected with severe injuries, overwhelmed hospitals, harm to children and the effects of war. The medical footage is central to the documentary’s argument rather than a brief background element.

Viewers affected by images of injured children, death, war or medical trauma should make an informed decision before watching. Reading a synopsis first does not spoil a mystery because the film is not structured as a thriller. Emotional preparation may be more important than avoiding details.

Readers looking for guidance on another emotionally intense nonfiction film can see our spoiler-conscious article on Dear Zachary and where to watch it.

Why American Doctor is attracting attention

The documentary arrived with three advantages that many independent nonfiction films do not have at the same time: a highly current subject, recognizable medical storytelling and strong festival response. Its Hot Docs Audience Award suggests that the film connected with viewers beyond critics and industry audiences, while its August theatrical opening created a new wave of searches around the title and its featured doctors.

Its most distinctive element is the combination of different voices. Ahmad, Perlmutter and Sidhwa do not share the same background or public style, but their medical oath gives the film a common foundation. That allows American Doctor to ask a broad question without losing sight of individual experience: when professionals witness suffering at close range, where does their responsibility end?

For viewers, the answer will depend partly on their own political beliefs and tolerance for graphic material. What can be established without reviewing the film personally is that American Doctor is a current, award-winning documentary with a clear point of view, firsthand medical testimony and a limited theatrical release that is still developing.