Malaysia-born filmmaker Poh Si Teng is presenting her debut feature documentary American Doctor at CPH:DOX in Copenhagen, where it is screening in the Human Rights competition. The film premiered earlier this year at Sundance and follows three US-based doctors working in Gaza between December 2024 and December 2025.
Speaking at CPH:DOX, Teng said she left her job at ABC/Disney and used 150,000$ of her own savings to start the project. She said she later raised nearly 200,000$ from family, friends and supporters in Malaysia after struggling to secure enough funding in the United States.
The documentary was filmed under dangerous conditions in Gaza by cinematographers Ibrahim Al Otla and Chris Renteria. Teng said footage was sent out daily, often through the Signal messaging app, while the team worked alongside doctors in the conflict zone.
American Doctor is a US-Palestine-Malaysia-Denmark co-production. It was produced by Teng through Tiny Boxer Films together with New York-based Danish producer Kirstine Barfod and Reem Haddad, and co-produced by Denmark’s Elk Film.
Teng told Screen that she believes audiences in Europe and Asia are ready for the film. She also said she is already working on a second feature documentary, which is fully funded but still being kept under wraps.
