Private Project

Physician, Heal Thyself

Physician Heal Thyself offers a searingly intimate portrait of this celebrated expert on addiction, stress, and trauma. Physician Heal Thyself follows Gabor’s life’s journey, from his start as a young contrarian to a contemporary icon who still struggles to manage his own painful past, complicated behavior's, and fractured relationships. At its core, the film is a quietly powerful meditation on the human experience - a meditation that reveals no amount of money, love, or intellect can bring peace to a troubled soul without sharing pain, vanquishing ego, and accepting one’s messy, wonderful, imperfect self.

  • Asher Penn
    Director
  • Asher Penn
    Writer
  • Asher Penn
    Producer
  • Shannon Walsh
    Producer
  • Mark Achbar
    Producer
  • Gabor Mate
    Key Cast
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Genres:
    Self-Help
  • Runtime:
    1 hour 40 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    August 31, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    250,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Canada
  • Country of Filming:
    Canada
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Asher Penn

Asher Penn got his Bachelor of Fine arts in photography at Rhode Island School of Design in 2004. He has conducted and edited over 100 interviews with creatives ranging from William Gibson to Grimes, and is the producer of the experimental feature-length documentary Maggie Lee’s Mommy.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Like a lot of people, I discovered Gabor Maté’s work while confronting my own addictions. 3 months sober and desperate for insight I stumbled across his book In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts, the only title I could find that addressed addiction, it’s cause and treatment holistically. I continued consuming Gabor’s books, interviews, and lectures on ADHD, the mind- body connection, trauma and countless other topics. A charismatic, tortured soul, he pulled from a diaspora of ideas far outside the lexicon of any doctor I had ever encountered. He seemed more like an artist. I kept asking myself “Who is this person? How did he come to be?”