Aitch Alberto, writer and director ofthe movie adaptationof Benjamin Alire Sáenz' popular 2012 novelAristotle 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 in 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 herfeature 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.

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“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 discarded because “he wroteAri 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 Mexican restaurant. He sat across from me and we were both bawling, and he was like, ‘These boys were mine, and now, I give them to you.’”

Immediately, Alberto was thrown into a world of diehard fans with extremely high expectations (some, the filmmaker has learned, are less forgiving than others, as she was hounded at the world premiere’s Q&A for leaving out a fan’s “favorite quotes from the book”) and under-appreciated indie filmmaking, which houses challenges such as lack of financial support and creative freedom (Alberto’s 96-minute movie was originally two hours and 47 minutes). However, that doesn’t mean her movie team lacked in skill, talent, or the pillars needed for success.

“I met Valerie Stadler and we developed the script together,” says Alberto, who also knew she wanted to getLin-Manuel Mirandainvolved. In 2013, following the success of Miranda’s musicalsIn the Heights(now a feature film) andBring it On, and a few years beforeHamiltonmade its premiere at off-Broadway’s Public Theater, the actor and playwright narrated the audiobook for Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe.

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“We tried the traditional route and that didn’t work out,” says Alberto about her mission to recruit the stage and screen star. “And then I tweeted him. 20 minutes later, he replied, and three months later, he was in LA and agreed to be part of the picture.” Not only did Miranda join as a producer, but he also agreed to do an uncredited cameo. “He was hands-on the entire time. He’s not someone who’s just throwing their name on the project. He’s given me notes on the script and every cut of the film. He even talked to the boys before we went into production,” adds the filmmaker. “Lin has been essential, and I’m incredibly grateful for him. I love him so much.”

The movie had its world premiere at the2022 Toronto International Film Festivalon September 9th, with additional screenings in person on the 10th and 15th and a limited run on the festival’s digital platform. But, due to the unfortunate ways of the entertainment industry, despite being a crowd pleaser with a must-see story and an active fan base (who have been incessantly tagging their go-to distributors on social media with their heartfelt pleas), the movie is still seeking distribution.

“We didn’t play into tropes and we didn’t play into what was expected of a Latino story. I would love to find a partner that understands that,” Alberto says in reflection of her “dream” distributor. “It’s about so many more things that are layered into its queer story. Ari never says he’s gay. I think he just falls in love with Dante.”

She adds, “I want someone who fundamentally understands what that means, but I also want to have as many eyes as possible from all over the world to see this because there are so many fans. I really hope that this unlocks something and is a gift to people, older and younger.”

Speaking of fans, Alberto isn’t worried about those who are a bit finicky. Revisiting the aforementioned Q&A participant, Alberto clarifies, “They were so pleased with the movie. They came up to me after and were like, ‘I was so proud of your work. I was just wanting to know about those specific lines.’”

She continues, “I thought it was sweet. It was lovely. I’m going to get a lot of that, and I know that.”

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universeis currently seeking distribution.