J. A. Bayona

A longtime friend and eventual collaborator of acclaimed filmmaker Guillermo Del Toro, J.A. Bayona quickly moved to the forefront of contemporary Spanish directors. After cutting his teeth on music videos and short films, Bayona was encouraged by Del Toro to make the leap into features. With financing put in place by his mentor, Bayona directed "The Orphanage" (2007), a supremely spooky and dramatically potent horror thriller that enjoyed significant success in his native country and critical acclaim abroad. After being rumored for Hollywood projects, including one that would have reunited him with Del Toro, Bayona decided that his next project would be in English, but with financing from Spanish sources. Centered on the horrors endured by vacationers caught up in the Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, "The Impossible" (2012) was acclaimed for both its intense recreation of the disaster and powerful dramatic story of separated family members trying to reunite in the wake of such an unimaginable tragedy. On the basis of his first two efforts, Bayona demonstrated considerable promise as a rare contemporary director with an equally firm hand when it came to the challenge of balancing technical proficiency with the ability to create affecting human drama.