Poh Si Teng

Poh Si Teng is a Malaysian-American journalist and documentary filmmaker. She is known for producing the Academy Award-nominated documentary short St. Louis Superman and directing the feature documentary American Doctor (2026). She has held leadership roles at the International Documentary Association, Al Jazeera English, and The New York Times.

Early life and education Teng was born and raised in Malaysia. She attended public school in Perai and Butterworth before receiving a scholarship to Taylor's College in Kuala Lumpur.

She later moved to the United States as an international student to study journalism at San Francisco State University, graduating in 2007. During her time at SFSU, she wrote for the student-run newspaper, the Golden Gate Xpress. She subsequently joined The New York Times as a staff journalist. During her tenure, she received an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Interview and was recognized with a Society of Professional Journalists' Deadline Award and an NPPA award.

Commissioning and leadership roles Teng served as a documentary commissioner for Al Jazeera English, overseeing the Americas for the flagship documentary strand Witness. follows a group of American doctors providing medical aid in Gaza between 2024 and 2025. To fund the initial production, Teng used $150,000 of her personal savings.

She served as an executive producer for the documentary Patrice: The Movie, which won a 2025 Emmy Award for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking.

Awards DOC NYC's "40 Under 40 Filmmakers to Watch" Society of Professional Journalists' Deadline Award NPPA Award