Baena was born in Miami on June 29, 1977. He graduated from New York University Film School and headed to Los Angeles to begin a career in film. He landed a job as a production assistant for Robert Zemeckis and worked on several of his films before landing a gig as an assistant editor for Russell.
Baena’s breakthrough came when he co-wrote I Heart Huckabees (2004) alongside director David O. Russell. The film, nominated for the Gotham Award for best feature, followed two “existential detectives” who strive to solve the meaning of a series of strange coincidences.
He made his directorial debut in Life After Beth (2014), which he wrote as well. It starred Plaza as the title character and premiered at the Sundance Film Festival that year, when it was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize and eventually released in theaters by A24. His next project, Joshy (2016), starring Thomas Middleditch, also bowed at Sundance with a Grand Jury nom before being released by Lionsgate.
Baena also wrote and directed the Plaza-starring The Little Hours (2017), nominated for the audience award at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and co-wrote, directed and produced Horse Girl (2020), which starred Dave Franco and frequent collaborator Allison Brie. Both those films debuted at Sundance as well.
In addition to Plaza, survivors include his mother, Barbara Stern, and stepfather, Roger Stern; father Scott and stepmother Michele Baena; brother Brad Baena; stepsister Bianca Gabay; and stepbrother Jed Fluxman.