SAVANNAH, GEORGIA (Sept. 27, 2024) — The Savannah College of Art and Design’s (SCAD) 27th annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival today announced The Piano Lesson actors Danielle Deadwyler, John David Washington, Skyler Aleece Smith, and Michael Potts and director Malcolm Washington will be onsite to receive the first annual Ensemble Award, along with additional cast expected to attend. The film will screen on Saturday, Oct. 26, as part of Opening Night, kicking off the 2024 edition of the festival.
“We’re excited to present our inaugural Ensemble Award to the extraordinary cast of The Piano Lesson, whose collective talent brings August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play vibrantly to the screen,” SCAD Savannah Film Festival executive director Christina Routhier said. “It is an honor to recognize these exceptional artists including Danielle Deadwyler and John David Washington who give knockout performances in this powerful film along with the rest of this stellar cast as impeccably directed by Malcom Washington.”
Produced by Netflix and adapted from August Wilson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning masterwork, The Piano Lesson explores the intergenerational dynamics of identity, resilience, and transcendence — revealing startling truths about how we perceive the past and who gets to define our legacy. The film is directed and co-written by Malcolm Washington in his feature directorial debut. The film, from Oscar nominated producers Denzel Washington and Todd Black, features an all-star cast that includes Samuel L. Jackson, John David Washington, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu with Danielle Deadwyler, and Corey Hawkins. The Ensemble Award recognizes the collaboration and overall achievement of this extraordinary project.
Danielle Deadwyler is known for her versatile performances in films such as Till, garnering critical acclaim as the mother of slain Black teenager Emmett Till, and television such as Netflix’s From Scratch, the HBO series Watchmen, and the HBO Max limited series Station Eleven. Deadwyler is set to appear in the upcoming action thriller Carry On and The Women in the Yard, which she will star in and executive produce. John David Washington made his Broadway debut in 2022 in August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson, a role he reprises in the Netflix adaptation. For his starring role as Ron Stallworth in Spike Lee’s BlacKKKlansman, he earned multiple nominations and received the SCAD Savannah Film Festival’s Distinguished Performance Award. His other films include Christopher Nolan’s Tenet, Sam Levinson’s Malcolm & Marie (which he also produced), David O. Russell’s Amsterdam, and Gareth Edwards’ The Creator. Malcolm Washington makes his feature film directorial debut with The Piano Lesson. A graduate of the American Film Institute, he has directed several music videos and, in 2017, wrote and directed the short film Benny Got Shot.
The Piano Lesson ensemble will join previously announced honorees Collen Atwood (Creative Impact Award for Costume Design), Annette Bening (Lifetime Achievement Award), Jerry Bruckheimer (Legend of Entertainment Award), Colman Domingo (Spotlight Award), Karla Sofía Gascón (Distinguished Performance Award), Jharrel Jerome (Lumiere Award), Richard Linklater (Lifetime Achievement in Screenwriting Award), Mikey Madison (Breakthrough Award), Isabela Merced (Rising Star Award), Lupita Nyong’o (Virtuoso Award), Daisy Ridley (Lumiere Award) and Sebastian Stan (Maverick Award).
The annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival kicks off on Saturday, Oct. 26, while the rest of the week features scheduled competition screenings, premiere screenings, workshops, lectures, and panels. These events take place at SCAD’s historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces across the historic city of Savannah. Additional programming highlights include the Docs to Watch series, hosted by Scott Feinberg of The Hollywood Reporter, which will spotlight the 10 best documentaries of the year; Variety’s Artisans to Watch hosted by Jazz Tangcay and Pixels and Pencils hosted by Clayton Davis; Entertainment Weekly’s Breaking Big, which showcases the next generation of Hollywood talent; Amazon MGM Studios’ LGBTQIA+ Shorts Competition; the Behind Her Lens series, which includes panels with influential female directors, producers, and artisans discussing the importance of staying true to their vision and empowering the industry forward with profound stories; among much more.
Festival passes for 2024 are available now. Individual event tickets will go on sale Friday, Oct. 4, online at filmfest.scad.edu, by phone at 912.525.5050, or in person at the SCAD Box Office (scadboxoffice.com) at 216 E. Broughton St. in Savannah.
About the SCAD Savannah Film Festival
Presented by the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), the SCAD Savannah Film Festival is filled with cinematic creativity from award-winning professionals and emerging student filmmakers. Each year, more than 60,000 people attend the eight-day festival. The festival has become a distinguished stop on the road to the Academy Awards, hosting exclusive screenings, competition films, feature films, documentaries, shorts, animated films, panel discussions, and workshops at SCAD’s historic theaters and industry-leading studio spaces. Presented in Savannah, a premier film hub in the Southeast, the festival promotes quality movies produced by independent and studio filmmakers.
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SCAD: The University for Creative Careers
SCAD is a private, nonprofit, accredited university, offering more than 100 graduate and undergraduate degree programs across locations in Atlanta and Savannah, Georgia; Lacoste, France; and online via SCADnow. SCAD enrolls more than 18,500 undergraduate and graduate students from more than 110 countries. The future-minded SCAD curriculum engages professional-level technology and myriad advanced learning resources, affording students opportunities for internships, professional certifications, and real-world assignments with corporate partners through SCADpro, the university’s renowned research lab and prototype generator. SCAD has earned top rankings for degree programs in interior design, architecture, film, fashion, digital media, and more. Career success is woven into every fiber of the university, resulting in a superior alumni employment rate. A 2024 study found that 99% of recent SCAD graduates were employed, pursuing further education, or both within 12 months of graduation. SCAD provides students and alumni with ongoing career support through personal coaching, alumni programs, a professional presentation studio, and more. Visit scad.edu.
About the SCAD School of Film and Acting
With resources that rival Hollywood studios, award-winning professors, stunning locations, two professionally run casting offices, and stellar film and television festivals, the SCAD School of Film and Acting is the ideal place for students to launch into the multibillion film and television industry. The SCAD acting, cinematography, editing, film and television, production design, and sound design programs prepare students to command roles on stage, screen, and behind the scenes through instruction that includes real-world experience on productions for short films, live performances, TV sitcoms, dramatic series, music videos, commercials, and more.
Additionally, SCAD is making a significant investment in the futures of the university’s School of Film and Acting and School of Animation and Motion students with the completion of a Hollywood-style film backlot at Savannah Film Studios. The landmark 11-acre, three-phase expansion includes the backlot, a next-generation LED volume stage for virtual productions — one of two owned and operated by the university, along with a second at SCAD Atlanta’s Digital Media Center — and new soundstages, among other features. The expanded Savannah Film Studios is the largest and most comprehensive university film studio complex in the nation.
During the 2024 festival, SCAD will unveil a magnificent new 17,500 sq. ft. production and costume design building next to the Savannah Film Studios backlot. This state-of-the-art facility will include space for costume design sewing labs, a fabulous industrial garment conveyor, and massive production design scene shops for building, welding, painting, and much more. This facility further highlights the university’s commitment to collaborations across filmmaking disciplines. Additional honorees and the festival’s lineup are to be announced.
