Summit Entertainment will commence international sales in Cannes on The Orphanage director Juan Antonio Bayona’s new project, which will star Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor.

The true story is based on events that took place during the tsunami that hit the coast of Thailand in 2004. Sergio G Sanchez, Bayona’s collaborator on The Orphanage, wrote the screenplay.

Production is set to begin in August in Alicante and will move to Thailand in October. Summit will release in the US and holds worldwide rights excluding Spain, where Warner Bros will distribute.

Spain’s Apaches Entertainment and Telecinco Cinema are producing and Belen Atienza, Lopez Lavigne and Alvaro Augustin serve as producers.

Summit International president David Garrett and senior vice-president of acquisitions and co-productions Michael Schaefer will oversee the project for the company.

Watts stars in Doug Liman’s Cannes competition entry Fair Game, which Summit will release in the US and recently acquired for Italy, Benelux, Scandinavia, Japan and CIS. McGregor was most recently seen in Summit’s The Ghost Writer.

Watts is represented by CAA and managed by Untitled Entertainment. McGregor is represented by UTA and UK agent Lindy King of United Agents. Apaches is represented by UTA. Bayona is represented by WME.