American Fiction is a 2023 American satirical comedy-drama film written and directed by Cord Jefferson (in his feature directorial debut), based on the 2001 novel Erasure by Percival Everett. The film stars Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Sterling K. Brown, Myra Lucretia Taylor, John Ortiz, Issa Rae, and Adam Brody.
Thelonious “Monk” Ellison’s (Wright) writing career has stalled because his work isn’t deemed “Black enough.” Monk, a writer and English professor, writes a satirical novel under a pseudonym, aiming to expose the publishing world’s hypocrisies. The book’s immediate success forces him to get deeper enmeshed in his assumed identity and challenges his closely-held worldviews.
American Fiction premiered at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival on September 8, 2023, where it won the People's Choice Award. It is scheduled to receive a limited theatrical release by Orion Pictures through Amazon MGM Studios on December 15, 2023, with an expansion on December 22, 2023. Watch the official trailer below.