Most of us have never been featured on the cover of a magazine. And that’s okay. Such honors are usually reserved for international power brokers like Vladimir Putin or Enrique Peña Nieto (note irony) — and in the case of Filmmaker Magazine, for A-list indie filmmakers and actors. Understandably, you may not have heard of Filmmaker, but suffice it to say that it’s something like the New York Times of independent film. In other words, it’s a big deal.
After being founded in 1992, the quarterly industry publication is perhaps best known for its yearly consecration of the “25 New Faces of Independent Film” — then there are the covers, which over 83 issues have been reserved for figures of international renown like Spike Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, and Willem Dafoe. But once in a blue moon we’ve had the pleasure of seeing a Latino proudly representing for La Raza on the glossy front page of Filmmaker‘s 60,000+ strong print edition.
First there was Michelle Rodriguez back in 2000, then the Gael García Bernal issue four years later, and finally 2008’s Fall edition, which featured none other than Boricua Benicio del Toro gazing longingly out from the magazine’s 8 x 10 inch offset print.
Now seven years later, we’ve finally got another cover to call our own, and it has resoundingly announced the arrival of Tejano Sundance sensation, Alfonso Gómez-Rejón. In case you missed all the hullabaloo, Gómez-Rejón made history at this past edition of the Sundance Film Festival when his sophomore feature, Me & Earl & the Dying Girl, picked up a handful of awards and cut a distribution deal for the highest figure ever seen at Sundance.
Unsurprisingly, the upcoming Spring 2015 edition’s feature article has Gómez-Rejón and screenwriter Jesse Andrews talking about the magic behind their indie sensation. Even if you haven’t fully accepted yourself as a film nerd yet (it takes time), be sure to stop by your local tobacconist and pick up the latest issue of Filmmaker. We’re willing to bet that it won’t be the last you hear from Gómez-Rejón.