Juan Antonio Bayona Biography

Juan Antonio Bayona (born 1975 in Barcelona) is a Spanish film director. In addition to directing television commercials and music videos, Bayona is best known for directing his acclaimed horror film The Orphanage. Bayona is currently working on his English-language debut, Hater, which was announced in October, 2008.
Bayona grew up with a passion for films. This fervor first lead him to become a journalist; later, it motivated him to study directing at the Cinema and Audiovisual School of Catalonia (ESCAC). During the 1993 Sitges Film Festival in Spain, Bayona met director Guillermo Del Toro, who was presenting his film Cronos.After their initial conversations, Del Toro promised to aid Bayona in the future, were he ever in the position to do so. Following his graduation from ESCAC, Bayona started his career directing commercials and pop videos for famous Spanish musical groups, including OBK, Hevia, Ella Baila Sola and Camela. Bayona directed two short films My Holidays (Spanish: Mis Vacaciones) in 1999 and The Spongeman (Spanish: El Hombre Esponja) in 2002.