THE PIANO LESSON Cast to Receive The Gotham Awards Ensemble Tribute

The Gotham Film & Media Institute has announced that The Piano Lesson, directed by Malcolm Washington and co-written by Washington and  Virgil Williams, will receive The 2024 Gotham Awards Ensemble Tribute at the 34th Annual Gotham Awards Ceremony, taking place live and in person on Monday, December 2, 2024 at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City. 

The Gotham Awards Ensemble Tribute was created in 2005 to recognize the talented casts whose artistry and chemistry captivate audiences on the big screen. With this tribute, The Gotham will honor The Piano Lesson’s acclaimed cast, which includes Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Danielle Deadwyler, Michael Potts, Corey Hawkins, and Erykah Badu.

“The Piano Lesson is a stunning adaptation, bringing August Wilson's play to life with captivating cinematic artistry,” said Jeffrey Sharp, Executive Director of The Gotham Film & Media Institute. “The remarkable talent, effort, and chemistry of this brilliant ensemble cast forms the heart of the film, elevating its touching story of family legacy. It's precisely this kind of collaborative excellence that our Ensemble Tribute Award aims to recognize.”

“What Malcolm Washington, his brilliant filmmaking team and ensemble cast of John David Washington, Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Corey Hawkins, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu and Skylar Smith have achieved is an August Wilson story in cinematic form,” said Constanze Romero-Wilson, Executive Producer of The Piano Lesson. “His words still resonate...are still singing but so are the images, the performances, and the intimate window into each character's inner world. I am honored and grateful to be part of this project which brings August Wilson’s meaningful stories to a new generation of audiences.”

Set in 1936 Pittsburgh during the aftermath of the Great Depression, The Piano Lesson – adapted from the August Wilson play of the same name – follows the lives of the Charles family in the Doaker Charles household and an heirloom, the family piano, which documents the family history through carvings made by their enslaved ancestor.

Following a premiere at Telluride Film Festival in August, The Piano Lesson will be shown in select theaters starting November 8 and will be available to stream on Netflix on November 22. Produced by Denzel Washington and Todd Black, executive producers on the project include Constanza Romero Wilson, Jennifer Roth, and Katia Washington.

Since the category’s inception in 2005, the Gotham Awards’ Ensemble prize has been awarded to notable projects, including Fire Island, The Hurt Locker, Babel, Winter's Bone, Moonlight, The Favourite, and The Trial of the Chicago 7, among others. 

Winners of the 34th Annual Gotham Awards will be honored at the awards ceremony at Cipriani Wall Street on Monday, December 2, 2024. The Premier Sponsor of the 2024 Gotham Awards is Vanity Fair. 

About The Gotham Awards

The Gotham Awards honors visionary talent in front of and behind the camera, expands the audience for groundbreaking film and television, and supports the year-round work of the not-for-profit The Gotham Film & Media Institute. With high-profile VIP guests and a superior location, the Gotham Awards provides sponsors with an incomparable setting for a meaningful presence at the first honors of the film awards season.

About the Gotham Film & Media Institute

The Gotham celebrates and nurtures independent film and media creators, providing career-building resources, access to industry influencers, and pathways to wider recognition. The organization, under the leadership of Executive Director and award-winning producer Jeffrey Sharp, fosters a vibrant and sustainable independent storytelling community through its year-round programs, which include Gotham Week, Gotham International, Filmmaker Magazine, the Gotham Awards, Gotham EDU, Owning It, and Expanding Communities.

Photo courtesy of Netflix