Films

Malcolm Washington makes his directorial debut in addition to co-writing this powerful adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning family drama by legendary playwright August Wilson.

Marking the third of Wilson’s plays to be brought to the screen by producer Denzel Washington (Fences, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom), this highly anticipated film boasts an all-star cast including John David Washington (BlackKkKlansman), Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film is set in 1936 Pittsburgh, where Boy Willie (John David Washington) arrives at the home of his widowed sister Berniece with a plan to sell the family piano, which dates back to, and includes engravings from, enslaved descendants. Berniece is fiercely opposed to the plan, and while their uncle Doaker attempts to mediate, the decision stirs up generations of trauma and memory.

“A message so powerful that it’s sure to haunt audiences long after the credits roll.”
-Maureen Lee Lenker

Presented by United Way of Greater Charlottesville and The David Butler Family Foundation and UVA Division for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and supported by The Charlottesville Chapter of The Links, Incorporated and The Charlottesville Player’s Guild