TORONTO: American Fiction — a satire about race, media and how white audiences consume Black culture — sealed its place as an early Oscars frontrunner by winning the coveted top prize on Sunday at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The film, the debut feature from Cord Jefferson, tells the story of Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison (Jeffrey Wright), an author and university professor who is told by his publishers that his writing isn’t “Black enough.” So he adopts a pseudonym and writes a novel using what he believes to be every staid idea about being African American. Of course, the book is a monster hit, producers start circling and Ellison must confront the consequences of his actions.

Adapted from Percival Everett’s novel Erasure, the movie from the 41-year-old Jefferson — an Emmy-winning writer who has worked on shows like Succession and Watchmen — looks at what it means to be authentic in American culture.

“When I made the film, I wasn’t yet thinking about how it would feel when it went out into the world,” Jefferson said in a statement read by festival CEO Cameron Bailey at Sunday’s awards ceremony.

Published in Dawn, September 18th, 2023