TIFF 2022 Interview: Aitch Alberto, Max Pelayo & Reese Gonzales on Bringing ‘Aristotle and Dante’ to Life
The movie adaptation of Benjamin Alire Sáenz' popular 2012 novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe made its highly-anticipated world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9th.
Aitch Alberto wrote and directed the coming-of-age drama which stars Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales as Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana, respectively. Equipped with a dedicated fanbase and a heartwarming story, the tale dives into the budding relationship between the two teenage Mexican-American boys and takes place in Texas during the late eighties, a troubling time of social unrest and AIDs activism. Game Rant met with the trio the morning after their world premiere, nearly a year after they wrapped shooting.
Related: TIFF 2022 Interview: Aitch Alberto Talks Directorial Debut 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'
Alberto, Pelayo, and Gonzales were bursting with energy and a comforting aura that would make any outsider feel warm and cozy (it's as if they knew just how good their premiere went). The festival wasn’t their first time reuniting since they finished production. The tight crew reminisced on their last visits: Alberto visited Gonzales in March for his birthday and the three all reunited last December to see Licorice Pizza (which they collectively deemed “a fun movie"). After cracking a joke about how this interview was supposed to be separate, one with Alberto and the next with Pelayo and Gonzales, the group puts their heads together and teases that they’ll make this chat a “tell all.”
This movie has been a long-time coming, Alberto began workshopping it in 2014 and Gonzales first got involved in 2018 when he portrayed Dante in a reading. “I didn't audition
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