Nicholas Ashe Bateman is an artist, filmmaker, actor and the founder of the award-winning visual effects, design and animation company Maere Studios.

[1][2][3] As a writer and director, his acclaimed debut feature film - the microbudget The Wanting Mare was released in 2021.

[4][5][6] In addition to writing and directing, Bateman did all visual effects, editing, producing, and also acted in the film.

[8]' As the visual effects supervisor for Maere Studios, he has supervised and designed for over 25 feature films in the past years, including A24's The Green Knight,' Disney's Hocus Pocus 2, Peter Pan & Wendy, M. Night Shyamalan's Knock at the Cabin and Ava Duvernay's Origin.

[13][14][15] An Almost Christmas Story was a co-production between Maere Studios, Disney Branded Television, and Alfonso Cuarón's Esperanto films, directed by David Lowery.