TORONTO, Sept 11 (Reuters) -

Award-winning actor Denzel Washington joined his two sons on

the red carpet this week at the Toronto screening of "The Piano

Lesson," a collaboration that tells a story of an

African-American family and its legacy.

Denzel Washington was executive producer of the Netflix ( NFLX )

movie, and his son Malcolm directed the feature, his first. His

other son, John David, plays one of the lead roles.

Adapted from the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by August

Wilson, 'The Piano Lesson' is a story about a disagreement

between a brother and sister about what to do with an heirloom

piano carved by a great-grandfather that is haunted by a ghost

from the family's enslaved past.

"We wanted to make a movie that gave audiences who did not

know there was a story like this access to it and open a window

to this story," said Malcolm Washington, who also directed a

Broadway staging of the play that starred his brother.

The brother, played by John David Washington, wants to sell

the piano to buy the land where his ancestors worked as slaves.

For the sister, played by Danielle Deadwyler, it is an

irreplaceable connection with the past. Samuel L. Jackson plays

their uncle who tries to mediate.

The film, set in Pittsburgh in 1936, is the third adaptation

by Denzel Washington from the 10-part 'Pittsburgh Series' of

plays by Wilson, following "Fences" and "Ma Rainey's Black

Bottom."

"The Wilson estate came to me 10 years ago and allowed me to

take charge, or to shepherd, the making of these August Wilson

plays," he said.

He told reporters at the Toronto International Film Festival

that his team intends to make all of them into films, and

discussions about the work on the next movie had already begun,

although he declined to reveal the title.

Deadwyler, whose acting credits include 2021's "The Harder

They Fall" told Reuters that it was a gift to be able to work

with Malcolm Washington.

"From our first conversation, I realized we are similar in

ideas, themes and modalities of arts are integral to how we are

reared," she said. "We came in over-prepared and we did the

play."