Wednesday 20 / May / 2026
Muscat: The Ministry of Information unveils the premiere of the documentary Dakhtar Thoms or Doctor Thoms, an intimate portrait chronicling the life of the American physician Wells Thoms, a luminary indelibly woven into the tapestry of Oman’s medical heritage. The documentary traces the genesis of his vocation, journeying from a childhood marked by formative, harrowing encounters with the anguish of leprosy and infectious disease, toward a lifelong consecration to medical and humanitarian service in the Sultanate of Oman.
The Minister of Information comments, “The documentary Dakhtar Thoms emerges from the Ministry's broader initiative to chronicle Omani history and illuminate the humanitarian and civilisational dimensions of Omani society. This is achieved through the creation of media and documentary works rendered with a contemporary vision and executed to modern production standards.
In recent years, the Ministry has cultivated a distinguished slate of documentary films and programmes, most notably the sweeping Beit Al Ajaib (House of Wonders) trilogy, the series Walana Athar, and other works devoted to safeguarding cultural heritage and national memory. These are brought before new generations and audiences across the Arab world and beyond in a compelling, contemporary visual language.
The film turns its lens on the figure of the American physician Dr. Wells Thoms — known with deep familiarity as "Dakhtar Thoms" — whose humanitarian and medical legacy remains etched into Oman's collective memory. The work traverses a formative chapter in the evolution of the Sultanate of Oman's health services, weaving historical documentation with dramatic intimacy and profound human depth.
The act of chronicling national history is a cornerstone of the Ministry of Information's cultural and media mandate — a solemn undertaking that fortifies national consciousness, deepens Omani identity, and entrusts the nation's memory intact to the generations yet to come”.
