Samuel L. Jackson in The Piano Lesson
Screenings
Part of the series MoMA Contenders 2024

The Piano Lesson

  • This is a past program
Followed by a conversation with actor Danielle Deadwyler

The intensity of familial bonds are on full display—both in front of and behind the camera—in Malcolm Washington’s adaptation of August Wilson’s searing play. Produced by his father Denzel, and starring his brother John David with the critical participation of his sister Olivia and mother Pauletta, Washington’s film uses the strength of his family tree to anchor a multigenerational story of memory, trauma, and progress. Featuring standout performances from Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, and Samuel L. Jackson, this tale of the battle over a prized heirloom piano and the ghosts it unleashes joins Fences and Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom among the compelling August Wilson visions brought to cinematic light by the Washingtons. 

The Piano Lesson. 2024. USA. Directed by Malcolm Washington. With Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Danielle Deadwyler. DCP courtesy Netflix. 125 min.

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$10 Hammer members | $20 general admission

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MoMA Contenders 2024 is organized by The Museum of Modern Art, New York. This film program is organized by Rajendra Roy, the Celeste Bartos Chief Curator of Film, Sean Egan, Senior Producer, Film Exhibitions and Projects, and Olivia Priedite, Film Program Coordinator, The Museum of Modern Art, New York.
 
The Hammer Museum's presentation is made possible by The Billy and Audrey L. Wilder Foundation.
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