Director's Statement
Physical Therapy is a comedy about a gay Latino doctor that must decide between keeping his low-income clients or taking a job at a private practice for kids of the mega-rich. Physical Therapy is inspired by my best friend who's a physical therapist as well as my advocacy work to make healthcare affordable and culturally appropriate for working-class communities.
Our hope with Physical Therapy is to inspire future generations of Latino and LGBTQ people to become doctors. Today, only 7 percent of doctors in the U.S. are Latino, 6 percent of physiotherapists are Latino, and only 5 percent of actors with speaking roles in Hollywood films are Latino. I want to change that.
Ahuatl Amaro - Writer/Director
Ahuatl is an award-winning queer, Latinx-Indigenous director and writer born and raised in Los Angeles. His LGBTQ comedy films have received critical acclaim and reached audiences worldwide. Warehouse (a workplace comedy about four LGBTQ warehouse workers) received the Festival Favorite Award at the 2024 Cinema Diverse film festival in Palm Springs and was also selected by the 2023 San Diego Latino Film Festival, Boston’s Wicked Queer, OUTShine Fort Lauderdale, Queer Voices New York City, New Filmmakers Los Angeles, New Orleans Queer Film Night, and TransFest Stockholm (Sweden). The film garnered stellar reviews on Movie Maker and Así es la nota.
His latest short film Physical Therapy starring Jason Genao (Netflix's On My Block) was awarded the Immaculate Heart Community Filmmaker Award at the 2024 Los Angeles Shorts International Film Festival, was the Audience Award runner up at the Hola Mexico Film Festival, and a finalist at the Mexican-American Film and Television Festival, Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival, and the International Festival of Independent LGBTQ+ Cinema in Mexico City. The short has been selected by over 20 festivals worldwide and was also a semi-finalist of the Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival, a quarter finalist for the 2023 ScreenCraft Film Film, and received an honorable mention at the 2024 Seville International Film Festival.
His upcoming film Mean Goals, about a mean-spirited team of LGBTQ soccer players, is currently in post production. A project of Film Independent, the gay sports comedy has already received raving reviews on Queerty and Adelante Magazine.
For over 17 years, he’s worked as a public relations professional at social justice nonprofits. His editorials have been published in the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union Tribune, Fresno Bee, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, Huffington Post, La Opinion, El Diario (New York) and others. He’s been interviewed on several social issues by CNN, PBS, NPR, Univision, and more.
He’s a 2024 Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today fellow, 2022 Point Foundation grant scholar, 2021 NALIP Emerging Content Creators Initiative scholarship recipient, and 2021 MACEF filmmaker scholarship awardee. He graduated with an MFA in Screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory, earned a Certificate in Television Writing at UCLA, and studied English and Theater at Georgetown University.
Director's Statement
Physical Therapy is a comedy about a gay Latino doctor that must decide between keeping his low-income clients or taking a job at a private practice for kids of the mega-rich. Physical Therapy is inspired by my best friend who's a physical therapist as well as my advocacy work to make healthcare affordable and culturally appropriate for working-class communities.
Our hope with Physical Therapy is to inspire future generations of Latino and LGBTQ people to become doctors. Today, only 7 percent of doctors in the U.S. are Latino, 6 percent of physiotherapists are Latino, and only 5 percent of actors with speaking roles in Hollywood films are Latino. I want to change that.
Ahuatl Amaro - Writer/Director
Ahuatl is an award-winning queer, Latinx-Indigenous director and writer born and raised in Los Angeles. His LGBTQ comedy films have received critical acclaim and reached audiences worldwide. Warehouse (a workplace comedy about four LGBTQ warehouse workers) received the Festival Favorite Award at the 2024 Cinema Diverse film festival in Palm Springs and was also selected by the 2023 San Diego Latino Film Festival, Boston’s Wicked Queer, OUTShine Fort Lauderdale, Queer Voices New York City, New Filmmakers Los Angeles, New Orleans Queer Film Night, and TransFest Stockholm (Sweden). The film garnered stellar reviews on Movie Maker and Así es la nota.
His latest short film Physical Therapy starring Jason Genao (Netflix's On My Block) was awarded the Immaculate Heart Community Filmmaker Award at the 2024 Los Angeles Shorts International Film Festival, was the Audience Award runner up at the Hola Mexico Film Festival, and a finalist at the Mexican-American Film and Television Festival, Philadelphia Latino Arts and Film Festival, and the International Festival of Independent LGBTQ+ Cinema in Mexico City. The short has been selected by over 20 festivals worldwide and was also a semi-finalist of the Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival, a quarter finalist for the 2023 ScreenCraft Film Film, and received an honorable mention at the 2024 Seville International Film Festival.
His upcoming film Mean Goals, about a mean-spirited team of LGBTQ soccer players, is currently in post production. A project of Film Independent, the gay sports comedy has already received raving reviews on Queerty and Adelante Magazine.
For over 17 years, he’s worked as a public relations professional at social justice nonprofits. His editorials have been published in the Los Angeles Times, San Diego Union Tribune, Fresno Bee, Dallas Morning News, Miami Herald, Huffington Post, La Opinion, El Diario (New York) and others. He’s been interviewed on several social issues by CNN, PBS, NPR, Univision, and more.
He’s a 2024 Tomorrow’s Filmmakers Today fellow, 2022 Point Foundation grant scholar, 2021 NALIP Emerging Content Creators Initiative scholarship recipient, and 2021 MACEF filmmaker scholarship awardee. He graduated with an MFA in Screenwriting from the AFI Conservatory, earned a Certificate in Television Writing at UCLA, and studied English and Theater at Georgetown University.
