Sergio G. Sánchez

Writer Sergio G. Sánchez enjoyed widespread success with his first feature film script, the chilling ghost story "The Orphanage" (2007), which marked the beginning of a collaborative relationship with director Juan Antonio Bayona that included the 2012 drama "The Impossible." Born in the northern Spanish town of Oviedo in 1973, Sánchez began his film career as a writer-director with the short horror film "7337" (2000). While working on the project, he met fellow filmmaker Juan Antonio Bayona, to whom he offered the script for "The Orphanage," which he had unsuccessfully tried to sell to various Spanish studios in an attempt to launch his own feature directing career. With the help of Bayona's friend, writer-director Guillermo Del Toro who served as one of the film's producers, "The Orphanage" became a hit in his native Spain, winning seven Goya Awards, including Best Original Screenplay for Sánchez. He returned to directing in 2008 with the Spanish made-for-TV thriller "Las manos del pianista" ("The Hands of the Pianist") (TV3, 2008) before reuniting with Bayona for "The Impossible" (2012), a drama with Ewan McGregor and Naomi Watts as Spanish tourists caught in the devastation of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The film scored the highest box office gross for any Spanish film in its opening weekend, remaining in the top slot for three consecutive weeks while enjoying critical praise on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as considerable buzz for various accolades during the 2012-2013 awards season.