American Fiction

American Fiction follows Thelonious 'Monk' Ellison, a stuffy, intellectual Black author frustrated by a publishing industry that rewards shallow, stereotype-driven Black narratives. In a moment of satirical protest, he writes a purposely outrageous, cliché-filled novel under a pseudonym, only to watch it become a massive commercial success. The film is a sharp, funny, and deeply personal comedy that explores race, identity, art, and family with remarkable wit and emotional depth.

• Based on Percival Everett's 2001 novel 'Erasure'.
• Cord Jefferson made his feature directorial debut with this film.
• Jeffrey Wright received his first Academy Award nomination for this role.
• The film won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
• Sterling K. Brown improvised several of his comedic scenes.

• I am not my people. I don't even know what that means.
• You want Black suffering? I'll give you Black suffering.
• The problem is you've never had to struggle, Monk.
• We keep redefining what it means to be authentic.
• I wrote the most offensive thing I could think of, and they loved it.