‘AMERICAN FICTION’ Director Cord Jefferson to Receive “Visionary Award” at Urbanworld Film Festival Opening Night

NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — The 27th Annual Urbanworld International Film Festival will honor Emmy Award-winning writer and American Fiction director Cord Jefferson with the “Visionary Award” at its Opening Night screening on Wednesday, November 1 at 7PM at the SVA Theatre (333 W. 23rd St).

Urbanworld’s “Visionary Award” recognizes filmmakers whose work pushes boundaries and sparks dialogue through skillful storytelling. American Fiction is Jefferson’s directorial debut and has been racking up awards on the festival circuit since its September premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it won the People’s Choice Award.

American Fiction confronts our culture’s obsession with reducing people to outrageous stereotypes and features an ensemble cast of Jeffrey Wright, Tracee Ellis Ross, John Ortiz, Erika Alexander, Leslie Uggams, Adam Brody, Keith David, Myra Lucretia Taylor, with Issa Rae, and Sterling K. Brown

Jefferson also wrote the screenplay, which he adapted from the novel Erasure by Percival Everett. The film will be in select theaters on December 15.

“I’m extremely grateful to Urbanworld for recognizing our film and celebrating the brilliant work of the creative team and every member of the cast who brought this film to life,” said Jefferson. “I look forward to celebrating this achievement at Urbanworld’s Opening Night.”

Jefferson’s most recent credits include the groundbreaking limited series Watchmen, for which he won an Emmy award, as well as Succession, The Good Place and Master of None. Prior to making his way into television, Jefferson was a journalist, most notably serving as the West Coast editor for Gawker. During his tenure in journalism, Jefferson wrote for such outlets as The New York Times, National Geographic, NPR, USA Today, MSNBC, Bookforum, and The Daily Beast.

The Urbanworld Film Festival takes place this week November 1-5, 2023 at AMC 34th Street and the SVA Theatre. For the full slate or to purchase tickets, visit urbanworld.org.

Follow the Urbanworld Film Festival on Instagram at @urbanworldff, or on Facebook at Facebook.com/Urbanworld.Film.Festivals.

About Urbanworld
The Urbanworld Film Festival was launched in 1997 by Founder Stacy Spikes, Co-Founder and CEO of MoviePass, and a former Executive at Miramax and October Films. The five-day festival showcases narrative features, documentaries, short films, web originals, experimental, spotlight screenings and conversations, and music performances. Hollywood studios, networks and streamers, as well as established and emerging content creators, have consistently chosen Urbanworld to premiere box office hits and award-winning projects. An initiative under the Urbanworld Foundation, the Festival is supported by Founding Partner HBO, and Prestige Partner Warner Bros. Discovery; Supporting Partners Comcast NBCUniversal, Disney+, ESPN Films, Freaknik Exclusively on Hulu, MoviePass, Open AI, Paramount+, Prime Video and Sony Pictures Entertainment; Contributing Partners Bloomberg Arts Initiative, Directors Guild of America, the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment and SVA SocDoc; Industry Partners Motion Picture Association, National Football League, Writers Guild of America East and Simple DCP; Media Partners iHeartMedia and Epicenter. Visit www.urbanworld.org for more information.

SOURCE Urbanworld Film Festival