Jeff Baena

Jeff Baena
Baena at the 2017 Seattle International Film Festival
Born	Jeffrey Lance Baena (1977-06-29)June 29, 1977 Miami, Florida, U.S.
Died	January 3, 2025(2025-01-03) (aged 47) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Education	New York University
Occupations	Director screenwriter
Spouse	Aubrey Plaza ​ (m. 2021)​ [1]

Jeffrey Lance Baena (/ˈbeɪnə/; June 29, 1977 – January 3, 2025) was an American screenwriter and film director. Baena began his career as a screenwriter, co-writing the 2004 comedy film I Heart Huckabees and, around the same time, seeing his script for Life After Beth enter production before being shelved. Baena, as an independent filmmaker, then expanded to directing and filmed Life After Beth as his directorial debut, starring Aubrey Plaza and released in 2014. Working with producer Liz Destro, and reuniting with Plaza as well as an expanding group of frequent collaborators, Baena was then writer-director for Joshy (2016) and The Little Hours (2017), which both became critically acclaimed and found a cult audience.

Among the performers in these films was Alison Brie, with whom Baena struck up a writing partnership and created works produced by Duplass Brothers Productions. They made the 2020 psychological drama film Horse Girl together, Baena's most commercial film, followed by the television anthology series Cinema Toast (2021) and Baena's final film, 2022's Spin Me Round. His first films saw Baena implement his post-mumblecore style as an improvisation-heavy filmmaker, and his films co-written with Brie are marked by exploration of expectations in film form.