'The Impossible' (2012) at 24th PSIFF

On Saturday January 5th, the PSIFF program 'Talking Pictures' featured actress Naomi Watts on panel where she spoke to a full audience about her work on her latest feature: 'The Impossible' (2012).

Watts is best known for her award-winning performance in David Lynch's Mulholland Drive (2001). Other films include: The Ring (2002), 21 Grams (2004), King Kong (2005), Eastern Promises (2007) and Fair Game (2010).

A Spanish production directed by Spain's Juan Antonio Bayona, the film is based on the incredible (and seemingly impossible, hence the film's title) true story about a family's separation and reunion during the 2004 Thailand tsunami. The family of five took a Christmas trip to Thailand in 2004 and were vacationing in a resort when the tsunami hit.

During one of the most destructive natural disasters in history, Watts plays 'Maria', mother of the the family who were separated from each other and near death in the midst of chaos and ruin. During the disastrous flooding and horrific devastation with near-fatal wounds and the fates seemingly against them, their prospects of survival looked impossible; however, through hope and love and the will to reunite, they each miraculously heal from their wounds, outlive the harrowing circumstances and find each other again. 

DIRECTOR: Juan Antonio Bayona

Screenwriter: Sergio G. Sánchez, Maria Belon

Principal Cast: Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor

written by and photos by Vanessa McMahon