Denzel Washington’s Son on ‘Secret’ to Parents’ Long Marriage (Exclusive)

Malcolm Washington knows his parents have a deep love for one another.

During a conversation with PEOPLE during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival premiere of his directorial debut The Piano Lesson on Tuesday, Sept. 10, Malcolm was asked about the incredible bond between dad Denzel Washington and mom Pauletta Washington, who have been married for over 40 years.

“I don’t know, they love each other, but I don’t know what the secret is,” says Malcolm, 33, with a grin. “I’m trying to find out.”

On the red carpet, Pauletta, 73, tells PEOPLE “there is no secret” to her longtime marriage with the two-time Oscar winner, 69.

“We work at it. It’s work,” she says. “There are a lot of prayers for strength for staying in a forgiveness mode and both parts, mine and his. … But it’s the basic love that we have for each other.”

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Malcolm dedicated The Piano Lesson, which stars his brother John David Washington, to their mom. Asked about his thought process behind the sweet decision, he tells PEOPLE, “There’s a great Colman Domingo quote, who’s an icon — he says, ‘Where would we be without the dreams of our mothers?’ ”

“And when I was working on the movie, her story kept coming to my mind,” Malcolm continues. “And it became something [like], ‘Okay, this is much bigger than me.’ ”

For the director, the impact of the project was “even much bigger than my mom, and our relationship,” he says. “This is for everybody’s mom, whether you’re a son, a daughter, a mother, a father — whatever that dynamic is, we come from a long line of people that have sacrificed and fought to put us in a position to do what we love and wanna do.”

“And I think it’s important to honor that,” Malcolm adds.

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The Piano Lesson, a new adaptation of August Wilson‘s play of the same name, stars John David, 40, as well as Samuel L. Jackson, Danielle Deadwyler, Ray Fisher, Michael Potts, Erykah Badu, Skylar Aleece Smith, Jerrika Hinton, Gail Bean and Corey Hawkins.

And the project is a true family affair, with Malcolm as director, John David starring, Denzel as a producer and the latter’s older daughter Katia Washington, 37, also producing.

Asked about having his dad on set, Malcolm tells PEOPLE at TIFF, “With any producer-director relationship, you want trust and communication and protection, in a lot of ways.”

“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,” he adds.

The Piano Lesson is in select theaters Nov. 8, then on Netflix Nov. 22.