Penangite’s tragic stories from a hospital in war-torn Gaza

2026-03-17 - 23:21

Penang-born filmmaker Poh Si Teng’s documentary titled ‘American Doctor’ focuses on three physicians working in a hospital during the war in Gaza. (Ibrahim al Otla pic) KUALA LUMPUR: It sounds like the premise of a television drama. Three doctors, with vastly different backgrounds and personalities, working together in an overwhelmed hospital amid the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But this is no work of fiction: it is the story at the heart of “American Doctor”, a critically acclaimed documentary directed by Penang-born filmmaker Poh Si Teng. It focuses on three doctors: Palestinian-American Dr Thaer Ahmad, who is measured and strategic; Jewish-American Dr Mark Perlmutter who wears his heart on his sleeve; and Dr Feroze Sidhwa, a Zoroastrian-American, who is media-savvy and prolific. Filmed in cinéma-vérité style, “American Doctor” shows the three treating injured civilians, and navigating the dangers and ethical dilemmas of practising medicine at a Gazan medical complex under siege by the Israeli military. “You see these doctors, with limited supplies, have to deal with the aftermath of bombs going off, and so many children coming in. And they must decide who to save,” Poh told FMT Lifestyle. “You learn the lives and testimonies of the Gazan doctors who work alongside them, and what they must live through. At the end of the day, the Americans can leave this place. But their Gazan colleagues cannot.” The film also follows their efforts to speak out in the halls of the United States Congress, drawing attention to the humanitarian crisis they witnessed first-hand. Dr Thaer Ahmad and Dr Mark Perlmutter in a scene from the documentary ‘American Doctor’. (Chris Renteria pic) Poh, now based in New York, previously served as creative executive for ABC/Disney, a documentary commissioner for Al Jazeera and New York Times journalist. She produced the Oscar-nominated St Louis Superman and is the Emmy Award–winning executive producer of “Patrice: The Movie”. She also founded Tiny Boxer Films, which produces feature documentaries. She said “American Doctors” was inspired by her journalist colleagues covering the current crisis in Gaza. “After a year of watching colleagues and people I respected being targeted and executed for their reporting, I wanted to do something. So I quit my job, and looked for the right story to tell,” Poh told FMT Lifestyle. Director Poh Si Teng hopes the documentary will encourage self-reflection among its viewers. (Poh Si Teng pic) Poh’s project recently made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. It is now making the rounds on the international film festival circuit, with strong reviews. As various restrictions made it difficult to enter Gaza, Poh regularly communicated with an on-ground team, including Gaza-based co-producer Mohammed Sawwaf and director of photography Ibrahim Al Otla. The director was full of praise for her crew members, many of whom braved the dangers of filming in a war-torn area, even during the Muslim fasting month. “Imagine celebrating Ramadhan in the context of a genocide, of a war. It’s a special time for Muslims to gather with their loved ones, and here we were, asking them to separate from their families, to film for us,” Poh said. “If anything happened to them, they would never see their children or parents again. It was a huge sacrifice. But they never wavered, they fully committed to the task.” The filming of “American Doctor” took about one year, an unusually short time for documentary creation. “We didn’t have the luxury of time. When we made this film, we promised our Gazan colleagues we would bring this story back to America as soon as possible,” Poh reflected. She said many Malaysians helped get the film off the ground with funding support mid-production. “I am deeply proud that Malaysians believed in this film from the very beginning. It is their generosity that made ‘American Doctor’ possible,” Poh said. Gazan crew Mohammed Sawwaf and Ibrahim Al Otla filming on the ground of the documentary ‘American Doctor’. (Poh Si Teng pic) Jismi Johari, President of Malaysian Humanitarian Aid and Relief (MAHAR), and activist Marina Mahathir serve as the film’s co-executive producers, with Imran Idzqandar as impact producer. Support also came from Kalimullah Hassan, Hamdan Majeed, Nurul Izzah Anwar and Khairy Jamaluddin, among others. Poh hopes Malaysians are able to watch “American Doctor”, and is seeking local distributors who can bring the film to cinemas. “I hope the film holds up a mirror to us, and gets people thinking about what is happening today. I don’t think you need to be of a certain background or upbringing to be concerned about what is happening in Gaza now,” Poh concluded. “I hope it helps viewers navigate these very difficult times. Each of us has to think about where we stand, and how we can help out in some way.” For more information on ‘American Doctor’, visit the website.