Story & Lesson Highlights with Lena Báez of Los Angeles

Lena Báez shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.

Hi Lena, thank you for taking the time to reflect back on your journey with us. I think our readers are in for a real treat. There is so much we can all learn from each other and so thank you again for opening up with us. Let’s get into it: What’s more important to you—intelligence, energy, or integrity?
How we live our lives defines who we are, and I like to think that I do it with integrity.

Since I was little, I was taught the value of being honest and doing the right thing, and that has always been my guidance for making decisions. While Intelligence and Energy are absolutely necessary as they allow us to be effective, productive, and solve complex problems, they are simply abilities. Without a strong ethical foundation, those abilities can quickly become misguided.

Doing the right thing can mean different things to many people. For me, my foundation is influenced by the idea that my actions are not the cause of pain to people around me, including my team and the people that I love.
I’m not self-righteous; I simply aim to lead an honest life without ever taking advantage of others.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Of course! I am a film director and the founder of True Colors Pictures, a brand dedicated to creating movies that explore the full, unvarnished range of human experience.

My main aim is to make films that are not only entertaining, but also offer a viewpoint on who we are as a society. I’m deeply inclined to explore the depth of our human emotions as they are shaped not only by impactful events but also by the texture of our daily lives, and how these influences fundamentally impact our decisions, behavior, and core essence.

The stories I tell, whether in my films or music videos, consistently follow an individual navigating complex relationships or confronting personal struggles, themes that are common and relatable to society worldwide. Currently, I find myself in pre-production on a music video for the singer NANTTI. It’s a project that I believe many will soon be able to enjoy, and I hope its themes will truly resonate with some of you.

Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. What was your earliest memory of feeling powerful?
My earliest memory of feeling truly powerful was the day I moved to Los Angeles. It wasn’t a single, simple emotion; it was an overwhelming rollercoaster, and that intensity itself felt powerful.

It represented embracing a new beginning and reaching a different level of independence. I was intentionally choosing the path of the unknown, and that choice was thrillingly bold.

Making changes is transformative because it demands tremendous courage. For me, that big change was so impactful because it meant leaving my warm home to build a dream in a completely unknown city. That moment, standing on the brink, was when the emotions were overwhelming, and the sensation that everything is possible made me feel incredibly powerful.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
If I could say one kind thing to my younger self, it would simply be: “You are stronger than you think.”

Looking back, I realize how much courage it took to make those life-changing decisions when I was young, to travel far and pursue a path for myself. Those adventures taught me everything about who I am. I built new friendships and started a very challenging career in a country with a different language than my own.

I am profoundly grateful to my younger self for that resilience, for having the courage to take that leap of faith even when it felt truly scary. That strength brought me exactly where I am today.

I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What’s a cultural value you protect at all costs?
Where I come from, family is the foundation; family is home. I come from a deeply collectivist culture and I highly protect that value. I believe that family is the core of a person’s life as it is the first example of trust, loyalty, and unconditional support an individual ever experiences.

Family fosters harmony, which is achieved through the love we have for one another and the steadfast commitment we give. This allows a person to thrive. No matter where I am in the world, my family fights the distances to remain in harmony together.

How I see the world and how I make movies about this world are fundamentally influenced by these collectivist values. This foundation compels me to tell stories about individuals navigating complex relationships, where those collective ties are fiercely challenged, but ultimately treasured.

Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. When do you feel most at peace?
I feel most at peace when I am in production and my entire team is working in harmony, like a family, all dedicated to the same goal. It’s when everybody is truly giving their best, and when the moment comes to call ‘”Action,” everything falls perfectly into place.

There is a profound calm in knowing that no matter how many takes we do, every single person is collaborating fully to make the absolute best of that one shot.

I feel peace when my vision as a director is completely supported by the team, when everyone is happy to be part of the project and genuinely believes in the story we are telling. In those moments, time doesn’t matter, because every single member of the team is there for the purest reason: to tell a story, and it’s simply peaceful.

Contact Info:

Image Credits
Steve Escarcega
Rigel Yaluk Mosquera
Dan Brink

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