The anticipation is building for Juan Antonio Bayona’s heart-wrenching film The Impossible…

The 37-year-old Spanish director’s film, a serious Oscar contender, tells the story of a family separated during the terrifying Tsunami in Thailand in 2004 and their efforts to survive and find each other, despite horrific injury and unspeakable devastation at the resort area where they were vacationing.

Starring Naomi Watts, Ewan McGregor and Tom Holland, the film has already broken box office records in Spain. Summit will be releasing The Impossible  on December 21 in the United States.

Here’s a look at the making of The Impossible, in a featurette that includes an interview with the real-life wife and mother who fights against all odds to be reunited with her children and husband again.