TIFF 2022 Interview: Aitch Alberto Talks Directorial Debut 'Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe'
Aitch Alberto, writer and director of the movie adaptation of Benjamin Alire Sáenz' popular 2012 novel Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, came across the “undeniably great” coming-of-age story in 2014 upon recommendation from a friend. “It was on a whim, I was like, ‘Okay, I'll read this book,’ and then I read it in one sitting. I visually saw it while I was reading it. I put it down and I was like, ‘I need to make this into a movie.”
The story takes place during the late eighties in Texas and follows the budding, tender relationship between two teenage Mexican-American boys, Aristotle “Ari” Mendoza and Dante Quintana, portrayed in the movie by Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales. Alberto knew from the beginning that it was an ambitious pitch for her feature film debut, noting that despite her magnetic draw to the project, she was doubtful that the rights were still available. But, after a producer friend convinced her otherwise, she wrote a spec script and got into contact with the book's author.
Related: TIFF 2022: Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe Review
“I was like, 'Yo, I wrote this script and I want to meet you because I want to make it into a movie.'" Ever the novelist, Sáenz responded with a “beautiful letter” and Alberto found herself on a plane to his house in El Paso. “On the way there. I remember thinking, ‘Oh, my God, what if this guy is like a total creeper?’” (A notion which she immediately threw away because “he wrote Ari and Dante, so there’s no way.”)
“We spent four days together. He took me around El Paso, showing me Dante's house, Memorial Park, and all those touchstones from the book. At the end of the trip, we went to Las Cruces, New Mexico and we sat in a
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