Pauletta Washington said she was deeply moved after she learned that her son, Malcolm Washington, dedicated his feature-length directorial debut to her.
“Oh my God. I’m looking forward to really express how I really feel about it,” Pauletta, who has been married to Denzel Washington for 41 years, told PEOPLE at The Piano Lesson’s premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday, September 10.
“You know, that’s such a great honor, such a great honor,” she added of Malcolm’s sweet gesture. “I mean, I broke down when I saw it.”
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Netflix’s adaptation of August Wilson’s classic play is a family affair for the Washingtons. Malcolm, 33, directs, while his father, Denzel Washington, 69, produces alongside his sister, Katia Washington, 37.
Their eldest sibling, John David Washington, stars in the film, which also features Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean, and Corey Hawkins.
“There’s a great Colman Domingo quote, who’s an icon, and he says, ‘Where would we be without the dreams of our mothers?’” Malcolm told PEOPLE when asked why he decided to dedicate The Piano Lesson to Pauletta, 73.
“When I was working on the movie, her story kept coming to my mind and became something where [like], ‘Okay, this is much bigger than me,’ “ Malcolm added.
“And even much bigger than my mom and our relationship — this is for everybody’s mom and whether you’re a son, a daughter or a mother or a father or whatever that dynamic is,” he said. “We come from a long line of people that sacrificed and fought to put us in a position to do what we love and want to do, and I think it’s important to honor that.”
On the red carpet in Toronto, Malcolm also spoke about working with his father on set. “With any producer-director relationship, you want trust and communication and protection, in a lot of ways,” he said. “So having my dad, as well as [co-producer Todd Black] and Katia there — it meant so much to me. Having that kind of love around you means everything.”
John David, 40, previously starred in The Piano Lesson on Broadway alongside Samuel L. Jackson, 75, and Jackson’s wife, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, in a 2022 revival.
The film adaptation hits select theaters on November 8 and begins streaming on Netflix on November 22.
