Exclusive: Jon Batiste and Suleika Jaouad talk American Symphony doc

Now playing on Netflix is the critically acclaimed documentary American Symphony, directed by Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Matthew Heineman (Cartel Land, The First Wave, Retrograde, Tiger) and featuring Grammy Award and Oscar Award winner Jon Batiste and his partner Suleika Jaouad.

Early in 2022, multi-instrumentalist Jon Batiste finds himself the most celebrated artist of the year with eleven Grammy nominations including Album of the Year. In the midst of that triumph, Jon is immersed in his most ambitious challenge yet: composing American Symphony, an original symphony that reimagines the traditions of the classical form, bringing together an expansive and inclusive diaspora of music for a performance at storied Carnegie Hall. This extraordinary trajectory is upended when Batiste’s life partner — best-selling author Suleika Jaouad — learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned.

Produced by Matthew Heineman, Lauren Domino & Joedan Okun, the film premiered at the 2023 Telluride Film Festival.

In the intimate AMERICAN SYMPHONY, Academy Award-nominated and Emmy Award-winning director Matthew Heineman delivers a portrait of two inimitable artists at a crossroads and a profound meditation on art, love, and the creative process.

The executive producing team include Barack Obama, Michelle Obama, Barak Moffitt, Marc Robinson, Daniel Seliger, Alice Webb, Steve Farneth, David & Nina Fialkow, Gene Gallerano, Jon Batiste, Suleika Jaouad, and Ryan Lynn.

Blackfilmandtv.com’s Wilson Morales caught up with Baptiste and Jaouad as they spoke about the film’s journey to present day.

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