J. A. Bayona

Directing

J. A. Bayona

Born 1975-05-09 · Barcelona, Spain

Juan Antonio García Bayona (born 9 May 1975 in Barcelona) is a Spanish film director. He directed the supernatural horror film "The Orphanage" (2007), the disaster drama "The Impossible" (2012), the fantasy drama "A Monster Calls" (2016), and the science fiction adventure film "Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom" (2018), the fifth installment of the "Jurassic Park" series. His most recent film is "Society of the Snow" (2023), which is the Spanish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. He has also directed television commercials and music videos. He directed the first two episodes of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" (2022).

Acting credits

Querido Fotogramas poster
4.0

The 70th anniversary of the “Fotogramas” magazine comes in the shape of a sentimental voyage through the history of Spanish cinema thanks to a mosaic of voices represented by people who make films, those who write them and those who consume them. The documentary pays tribute to the readers of “Fotogramas” helped by the leading figures of Spanish cinema, who will read to the camera the most representative letters received at its offices in the history of the magazine.

Querido Fotogramas

2018

Wolfgang poster
6.6

Wolfgang, a 10-year-old boy with an IQ of 152, is forced to live with his father, Carles, whom he has never seen, after the sudden death of his mother. He has one obsession, to run away to Paris to study at the Grimald Academy and become the best pianist in the world. But what Wolfgang doesn’t know is that the biggest challenge is right in front of him and that is to get along with his father.

Wolfgang

2025

Spanish Movie poster
5.0

Large doses of humor, ingenious nods to Spain's most recent national cinema, an artistic cast highly linked to comedy and a high reserve of surprises constitute the ingredients of this crazy comedy: Spanish Movie.

Spanish Movie

2009

The Queen of Spain poster
5.2

After her experiences in Nazi Germany, actress Macarena Granada traveled to Hollywood, where she became a star. In the 1950s, the diva returns to Francoist Spain to star a Hollywood blockbuster about Queen Isabella I of Castile. (A sequel to The Girl of Your Dreams, 1998.)

The Queen of Spain

2016

La vida és Verdi poster
7.7

No synopsis available yet.

La vida és Verdi

2026

Society of the Snow: Who Were We on the Mountain? poster
7.4

An in-depth look at the creative process behind "Society of the Snow," featuring cast, crew, director J.A. Bayona and even real-life survivors.

Society of the Snow: Who Were We on the Mountain?

2024

No artwork available
8.0

J.A. Bayona portraits in "9 days in Haiti" the daily life of the Caribbean country and how it struggles against poverty, with the help of children of school IDP camp Corail-Cesselesse.

Nine Days in Haiti

2015

The Great Illusion poster
2.0

Known as "El Mago Pop," illusionist Antonio Díaz shocks and awes celebrities and bystanders around the world with his mind-blowing performances.

The Great Illusion

2016

Cinema mon amour poster
NR

Moved by the closure of a cinema, a young director decides to investigate if the theaters of Barcelona have their days numbered. During the five years of the documentary's shooting, she will enter the closed world of the Catalan exhibition, watch the transformation of this art and business and live unrepeatable experiences in the bowels of many cinemas.

Cinema mon amour

2019

Narciso Ibáñez Serrador: historias para recordar poster
7.8

How the Uruguayan-Spanish actor, writer, producer and director Narciso «Chicho» Ibáñez Serrador changed forever the way of producing programs for Spanish television.

Narciso Ibáñez Serrador: historias para recordar

2017

The Cause of The Accident That Started The Fire poster
5.0

No synopsis available yet.

The Cause of The Accident That Started The Fire

2024

No artwork available
NR

Shooting various scenes on-board the ship on a sound- stage, including crafting a key scene that J. A. Bayona believes to be the heart of the movie. It also looks at dinosaur animatronics.

Fallen Kingdom: Aboard The Arcadia

2018

No artwork available
NR

Crafting some of the key action scenes in Hawaii (and elsewhere around the world).

Fallen Kingdom: Island Action

2018

Mundos virtuales poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Mundos virtuales

2013

No artwork available
6.0

A favorite character appears to bookend this film.

Fallen Kingdom: Malcolm's Return

2018

Fallen Kingdom: The Conversation poster
NR

Bryce Dallas Howard, J. A. Bayona, Colin Trevorrow, Chris Pratt, and Jeff Goldblum chat about all things Jurassic.

Fallen Kingdom: The Conversation

2018

No artwork available
4.8

A detailed exploration of honoring the dinosaurs of past Jurassic Park films while using cutting-edge technology to make them more realistic.

Fallen Kingdom: VFX Evolved

2018

No artwork available
NR

A look at Fallen Kingdom within the context of the new trilogy. It also explores J. A. Bayona's direction and the vision he brings to the movie.

Fallen Kingdom: The Kingdom Evolves

2018

No artwork available
NR

Our two friends from the webpage El Mundo Today show the Venga Monjas Montjuïc, the holy mountain.

Coneix la teva ciutat: El Mundo Today

2013

Behind the camera

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom poster
6.5

Three years after Jurassic World was destroyed, Isla Nublar now sits abandoned. When the island's dormant volcano begins roaring to life, Owen and Claire mount a campaign to rescue the remaining dinosaurs from this extinction-level event.

Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom

2018

The Impossible poster
7.4

In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.

The Impossible

2012

A Monster Calls poster
7.3

12-year-old Conor encounters an ancient tree monster who proceeds to help him cope with his mother's terminal illness and being bullied in school.

A Monster Calls

2016

Society of the Snow poster
8.0

On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, chartered to take a rugby team to Chile, crashes into a glacier in the heart of the Andes.

Society of the Snow

2023

Society of the Snow poster
8.0

On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, chartered to take a rugby team to Chile, crashes into a glacier in the heart of the Andes.

Society of the Snow

2023

Society of the Snow poster
8.0

On October 13, 1972, Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571, chartered to take a rugby team to Chile, crashes into a glacier in the heart of the Andes.

Society of the Snow

2023

The Orphanage poster
7.2

A woman brings her family back to her childhood home, which used to be an orphanage, intent on reopening it. Before long, her son starts to communicate with a new invisible friend.

The Orphanage

2007

She Walks in Darkness poster
6.7

A young agent leaves everything behind to pose as a member of ETA, risking her life to uncover the terrorists' hideouts in the south of France.

She Walks in Darkness

2025

Free Falling poster
6.5

Marisol is the national rhythmic gymnastics coach, methodical, demanding and authoritative. The World Championship is approaching and she places all her gold medal hopes on Angelica, the team's most promising newcomer. Two weeks before the final, Marisol discovers that her husband is having an affair with a much younger woman with whom she is expecting a child. Marisol does not contemplate failure, so she embarks on a desperate race to win him back, without taking into account her motives and feelings. Her pain is transferred to her tatami, where she becomes even more implacable towards Angelica, in whom she places her hopes of success. At this point, winning gold is all that's left for him.

Free Falling

2024

Crazy Old Lady poster
5.6

Pedro receives a desperate message from an ex-girlfriend asking him to look after her senile mother, Alicia. What seems like a simple mission soon becomes his worst nightmare. Pedro needs to escape; but Alicia won’t let him...

Crazy Old Lady

2025

Mis vacaciones poster
6.7

A child's initiatory journey into the world of adults during summer vacation after watching a movie on the last day of school.

Mis vacaciones

1999

Mis vacaciones poster
6.7

A child's initiatory journey into the world of adults during summer vacation after watching a movie on the last day of school.

Mis vacaciones

1999

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Global Fan Screening poster
7.4

An edited version of the first two episodes of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, shown exclusively to fans in cinemas around the world in August 2022. In a time of relative peace, an ensemble cast of characters confronts the re-emergence of evil to Middle-earth.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Global Fan Screening

2022

Homing poster
NR

On the south coast of England, a family’s morning is interrupted by a stranger. A man is in the garden. His jeans are wet and he looks lost. Is he in need of help or is he a threat? More importantly, what do they do now?

Homing

The Spongeman poster
8.0

Jonathan, a ten-year-old boy from a suburb of Barcelona, spends his afternoons listening to the adventures of Sponge Man, a superhero created by the Boss, his summer camp instructor.

The Spongeman

2003

The Spongeman poster
8.0

Jonathan, a ten-year-old boy from a suburb of Barcelona, spends his afternoons listening to the adventures of Sponge Man, a superhero created by the Boss, his summer camp instructor.

The Spongeman

2003

No artwork available
8.0

J.A. Bayona portraits in "9 days in Haiti" the daily life of the Caribbean country and how it struggles against poverty, with the help of children of school IDP camp Corail-Cesselesse.

Nine Days in Haiti

2015

No artwork available
8.0

J.A. Bayona portraits in "9 days in Haiti" the daily life of the Caribbean country and how it struggles against poverty, with the help of children of school IDP camp Corail-Cesselesse.

Nine Days in Haiti

2015

No artwork available
NR

Focused on the World War I. The film will follow a squadron of soldiers, who are on the front line during the First World War, have an opportunity to recapture their humanity with the infamous Christmas Truce of 1914.

Truce

No artwork available
NR

Set in 1989, a young boy searches for his missing best friend and uncovers a painful truth, revealing that the greatest dangers come not from legends, but from the adults around them.

El fons de l'estany

No artwork available
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Diminutos del calvario

2001

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

La Desgracia en 3D

2008

No artwork available
NR

No synopsis available yet.

La Desgracia en 3D

2008

No artwork available
NR

A collection of stories set during the Spanish Civil War, ranging from an account of Republican executions in a Madrid bombarded by Franco's forces and his fascist allies, to an Andalusian marquess who sets out to hunt communists with his personal death squad, to a militia woman who saves the life of a right-wing lawyer out of compassion.

In Blood and Fire