Jon Batiste stood by his wife Suleika Jaouad during a terrifying moment in their marriage.
Netflix’s new documentary American Symphony follows Batiste, 37, and Jaouad, 35, as she faces hospitalization for cancer recurrence in 2022. The cancer’s return came as Batiste prepared to debut an original symphony titled American Symphonyat Carnegie Hall in New York in September of that year.
A scene from the film, exclusive to PEOPLE, shows Batiste and Jaouad, who wed in February 2022, walking down the halls of the hospital during her chemotherapy treatment. They entertain each other with a game of Simon Says, with each copying the other’s moves.
“I feel a strong, strong, strong desire to take away the pain. But I can’t,” the Grammy winner is heard saying in a voiceover. “This is a moment, a test, and no one is to blame and no one can control it.”
Who is Jon Batiste’s wife? All about Suleika Jaouad
Suleika Jaouad and Jon Batiste in ‘American Symphony’.
Courtesy of Netflix
“That’s who we are,” Batiste recently told PEOPLE about his dynamic with his wife, as shown on their Simon Says game in a new clip.
American Symphony meets Batiste after receiving 11 November 2021 Grammy nominations for his album We areand as he embarked on composing his symphony for performance at Carnegie Hall.
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(697x157:699x159)/american-symphony-112723-7-57a482b19ad24eaeab6af53e7db0b181.jpg)
Jon Batiste in ‘American Symphony’.
Courtesy of Netflix
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
“This remarkable trajectory is reversed when Batistein’s life partner – bestselling author Suleika Jaouad – learns that her long-dormant cancer has returned,” reads the film’s official synopsis, adding that it presents “a portrait of two inimitable artists at the crossroads and a profound meditation on art, love and creative process.”
The documentary was directed by Matthew Heineman, a 2016 Oscar nominee for his work on the 2015 film. Cartel country. American Symphony started as a means of documenting Batiste’s work on his symphony, but in December 2021, Jaouad was diagnosed with leukemia for the second time in her life, as she announced in her newsletter at the time.
“We originally planned to make a process film about Jon’s American Symphony, but life got in the way when Jon was nominated for eleven Grammys and Suleika was diagnosed with cancer again,” Heineman tells PEOPLE of how the film changed during production. “American Symphony became a beautiful meditation on what it means to be an artist and to persevere through hard times and good times.”
Jon Batiste Says Grammys Will Be ‘Additional’ With Wife Suleika After Cancer Forces Her To Miss 2022 Show (Exclusive)
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(717x157:719x159)/american-symphony-112723-3-5732a4233982471ca8752c63895be7e4.jpg)
Suleika Jaouad in ‘American Symphony’.
Courtesy of Netflix
“I’ve never really met people who know themselves so well,” the director adds of Batiste and Jaouad. “And for all the points where they might deviate from who they are, they both remain radically, inescapably authentic. That was beautiful to capture and that’s something I hope people take away. As Jon would say, ‘Be yourself.’ ”
American Symphony had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in August. Movie begins streaming on Netflix on Wednesday.
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education