Meet Poh Si Teng, the Malaysian Filmmaker Behind the Acclaimed Documentary American Doctor

Poh Si Teng has spent much of her career telling other people's stories. Now, with American Doctor, the Malaysian-born journalist, producer and filmmaker is stepping into the spotlight herself.

The award-winning documentary, which marks Poh's feature directorial debut, has quickly become one of the most talked-about nonfiction films of the year, earning praise at major festivals including Sundance and Hot Docs. 

The film follows three American physicians who volunteer in Gaza, where they treat Palestinian children severely injured during the ongoing war while grappling with the intersection of medicine, morality and politics.

So, who is Poh Si Teng?

Originally from Penang, Poh was educated in Malaysia before moving to the United States to study journalism at San Francisco State University. She went on to build an impressive career in journalism and documentary filmmaking, working for The New York Times, Al Jazeera English, the International Documentary Association (IDA), and later ABC News Studios.

Image Credit: Deadline

Documentary fans may already know her as the producer of St. Louis Superman, the Oscar-nominated short documentary that earned critical acclaim in 2019. She also served as executive producer of Patrice: The Movie, an Emmy-winning documentary.

But American Doctor marks her first feature-length documentary as director, and arguably her most ambitious project yet.

What is American Doctor about?

The film centres on three American doctors from very different backgrounds: Palestinian-American emergency physician Dr. Thaer Ahmad, Jewish-American orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Mark Perlmutter, and Pakistani-American trauma surgeon Dr. Feroze Sidhwa. United by their commitment to medicine, they travel to Gaza to provide care in hospitals operating under extraordinary circumstances. 

Image Credit: Sundance

As the official synopsis notes, when the doctors "enter Gaza to save lives, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics, risking everything to expose the truth." The documentary follows them both inside operating theatres and hospital wards in Gaza, and later back in the United States as they speak to lawmakers, media outlets and the public about what they witnessed. 

Rather than focusing on military strategy or political leaders, Poh tells the story through the eyes of frontline healthcare workers. It's a perspective that makes the film feel deeply personal and intensely human.

A deeply personal project

Speaking during a discussion at CPH:DOX, one of Europe's leading documentary festivals, Poh revealed that people initially discouraged her from pursuing the film because of its sensitive subject matter.

Image Credit: The Hollywood Reporter

According to the director, she was repeatedly told: "You're not going to be able to make it. It's not going to get off the ground. It will never happen."

Her response?

"We shall see. I get a real thrill when somebody tells me it cannot be done."

That determination became a hallmark of the project. Reports indicate that Poh left her senior role at ABC News Studios and invested around US$150,000 of her personal savings to launch production before securing additional funding.

Festival success

One of the reasons American Doctor has generated such strong reactions is the firsthand testimony offered by the physicians featured in the film.

During the Sundance Film Festival, Dr Perlmutter reflected on the scale of suffering he encountered in Gaza, comparing it to previous humanitarian crises he had witnessed elsewhere in the world. Alongside colleagues who had worked in places such as Haiti and Ukraine, he described the conditions they encountered as among the most devastating experiences of their careers. 

Image Credit: Deadline

The documentary also captures the doctors' public advocacy after returning home. In the film's trailer, Dr Sidhwa argues that political decisions in Washington have direct consequences on the ground and calls for political solutions to the conflict. 

The documentary premiered in the US Documentary Competition at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival, a significant achievement for a first-time feature director. 

Since then, the film has continued its successful festival run, earning audience awards at the Sydney Film Festival and Italy's Biografilm Festival, as well as receiving a Special Mention in the HUMAN:RIGHTS AWARD category at CPH:DOX. It also won the Audience Award at Hot Docs, one of the world's premier documentary festivals. 

Critics have praised the documentary for its unflinching approach and for examining the conflict through the experiences of medical workers rather than political commentators.

Why it matters for Malaysians

For Malaysians, Poh's journey is a remarkable one. From public schools in Penang to the halls of Sundance, she has quietly built a career that spans journalism, television, documentary commissioning and award-winning film production.

With American Doctor, she's proving that Malaysian storytellers can play a meaningful role in some of the world's most important conversations. 

Image Credit: Poh Si Teng | Instagram

In an industry where Malaysian names rarely make headlines internationally, Poh is proving that local talent can compete on the biggest stages. Whether you're interested in documentary filmmaking, journalism or simply stories of Malaysians succeeding abroad, she's someone worth keeping an eye on. 

American Doctor will open in New York and Toronto on 14 August, followed by Los Angeles a week later. The Watermelon Pictures release will open in Atlanta, Santa Barbara, San Diego, and San Francisco on 28 August, followed by an expansion to more cities in September.

Watch the trailer for American Doctor below:

 Featured Image Credit: Poh Si Teng | Instagram, IMDb