American Fiction is a thought-provoking and funny film directed by Cord Jefferson and starring Jeffrey Wright. The American Film Institute ranked this movie as one of the ten best for 2023; it also won five nominations at the 96th Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Wright, and best adapted screenplay for Jefferson. Wright sensitively plays Thelonious “Monk” Ellison, a literary-minded African American writer who is pressed to chase greater commercial success by churning out cliche-filled works depicting Black suffering at its rawest. Exasperated, he composes a hoax novel filled with rappers, crack, and deadbeat dads, but the story grows more complicated when the book becomes a soaring success. American Fiction shines a light on questions of race, class and trend-driven publishing. Yet it isn’t a lecture, but a drama involving complex characters whom movie audiences care about.

There is no ticket charge, but donations are welcome to offset production costs.