Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. On the morning of December 26, as the family relaxes around the pool after their Christmas festivities, the sea, converted into a huge wall of black water, races across the hotel grounds. Maria only has time to shout "Henry, the boys!", before she is engulfed by the wave. Under the water, Maria is knocked and pummeled by the rubble until she's almost dead. Finally she emerges in middle of an angry sea. She holds on to a palm tree trunk, badly injured, convinced she's lost her whole family. But suddenly her eldest son, Lucas, surfaces a few yards ahead of her. With no time to assimilate the incomprehensible and unexpected natural catastrophe that has hit them, Maria has to fight against everything for her own and her son's survival.

El orfanato (2008), Bayona's first feature, Bayona landed seven Goya Awards, including Best New Director and Best Original Screenplay. He had formerly directed two of the short films to have received most awards in recent Spanish cinema, Mis vacaciones (1999) and El hombre esponja (2002). He is also considered to be one of the most international directors of videoclips and commercials, having made around thirty audiovisual works. The Impossible is his second feature.