This year’s Toronto International Film Festival was one for the books and it introduced us to many of the year’s most anticipated films. American Fiction created more buzz than any other movie at TIFF and it walked away with the festival’s People’s Choice Award.
American Fiction stars Jeffrey Wright as author and English literature professor Thelonious “Monk” Ellison. Frustrated by the stereotypical representation of the Black community in modern literature, he decides to write a satirical novel that embraces every stereotype in the book—and he’s shocked to see it become a surprise bestseller.
In addition to Wright, the film’s star-studded cast also includes Tracee Ellis Ross, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Sterling K. Brown, Myra Lucretia Taylor, John Ortiz, Issa Rae, and Adam Brody.
American Fiction draws inspiration from Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, which was adapted to the big screen by Cord Jefferson in his feature directorial debut. He thanked everyone who watched his movie in Toronto and helped it win the festival’s People’s Choice Award.
American Fiction was followed by Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers and Hayao Miyazaki’s The Boy and the Heron, selected as the first and second runners-up for the People’s Choice Award.
