In the wake of indie screenwriter and filmmaker Jeff Baena’s untimely passing, fans are recalling his 2020 movie Horse Girl — a film inspired by his family’s mental health struggles.
“Alison and I both have had family members who have had mental illness, and it was a major influence on working on this,” Baena, who was married to Parks and Recreation star Aubrey Plaza, told Reddit users ahead of the film’s 2020 release.
Baena co-wrote the film with actress and friend Alison Brie, who also starred in the film. Baena also served as the movie’s director.
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During the same 2020 Reddit Q&A, Baena explained that his first stepmother experienced “manic depression and was in and out of facilities in Miami due to the Baker Act (5150 California),” Page Six first reported.
Alison Brie Reacts to Frequent Collaborator Jeff Baena’s Death
“While I would not consider Horse Girl to be an activist film, the themes of how we as a society and individuals treat persons with mental illness was a major focus and impetus for making this,” the director added at the time.
On Friday, January 3, Plaza’s husband was found deceased in the couple’s residence. According to medical records reviewed by Us Weekly, Baena died by suicide. No additional cause of death or special circumstances related to his passing were listed, and an exam was conducted on Saturday, January 4.
Plaza has not publicly commented on her husband’s death. A representative for the actress provided a statement to Deadline in which she and her family asked for privacy during “this difficult time.”
In the wake of Baena’s death, celebrities and friends alike publicly offered their condolences to Plaza via her Instagram. Others shared touching tributes to the filmmaker and screenwriter, who was also known for his work on Life After Beth, I Heart Huckabees, and more.
Revisiting Late Director Jeff Baena’s Film Career and Stars He Worked With
Horse Girl follows Sarah (Brie), who finds solace in supernatural crime shows and horses, but whose lucid dreams slowly start taking over her reality. In 2020, Brie revealed in the same Reddit conversation that the film “tapped into very real emotions” due to her experience with her grandmother, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia.
“It’s based on my family’s history with mental illness, specifically my grandmother’s schizophrenia,” she said at the time, adding that the film also depicted her “fear of that existing in my DNA.”
Plaza and Baena, who started dating in 2011, kept their relationship relatively private. In 2021, Plaza revealed that she and her husband wed in a private ceremony at their home during COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.
“A lot of things happened during COVID for me. Yes, we got married. Big deal,” Plaza recalled during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres show. “We got a little bored one night. We got married and I’ll tell you how: Onehourmarriage.com. That’s real, look it up.”
If you or someone you know is struggling or in crisis, help is available. Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org.
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