CRADLED BY GRACE brings legendary jazz trumpeter Ephraim Owens, the Austin Symphony Orchestra, iconic local music venues, and Austin music mainstays including Charlie Sexton, Steve Wertheimer, Carrie Rodriguez, and more to the screen. The documentary follows Owens and Lipman as they prepare to premiere a concerto Lipman wrote for Owens, drawing on his life and artistry. The piece brings Owens’ improvisational voice into conversation with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. When a life-altering health crisis complicates the premiere, Owens must confront new limits while holding fast to the music that has sustained him.

Directed and produced by Vanessa Reiser, produced by Courtney B. Cook, and executive produced by Debbie Hiott, CRADLED BY GRACE is an intimate glimpse into artistic risk and the challenges of creating across traditions. Above all, the documentary reveals improvisation as a way of surviving when life refuses to follow the score.