'The Wanting Mare' Trailer: A Gorgeous Dose Of Sci-Fi Futurism

It's my job to cover the entertainment world, and one of my favorite things is when a fascinating-looking project seemingly comes out of nowhere and surprises me with its existence. Such is the case with The Wanting Mare, an intriguing science fiction film written and directed by Nicholas Ashe Bateman that was filmed almost entirely in a warehouse in Paterson, New Jersey. But you wouldn't know it from this trailer, which showcases a futuristic, expansive world which made me want to watch this movie immediately. Check out the dazzling new trailer below.

After making waves on the film festival circuit last year, Gravitas Ventures will release The Wanting Mare to the public next month. Bateman, a visual effects artist who has worked on movies like Free Solo, Wendy, and the upcoming The Green Knight, spent five years working on this movie, which marks his feature directorial debut.

Here's the synopsis:

In the world of Anmaere, north of the city of Whithren, wild horses run through the moorlands and up the coast. These horses are the city's most valuable export and, as a result, are hunted, trapped, sold, and shipped across the sea once a year. For those in Whithren, this trade passage creates lucrative and exciting possibilities: the chance to escape their constantly sweltering city and escape to the Western continent of Levithen, or simply to begin again.

Meanwhile, in a small house just north of the city, a young woman dies in childbirth. Her last words are an attempt to tell her daughter of the life she'll have and her inheritance of a recurring dream that must be kept secret – for it contains the memories of another age long before us, one where magic and myth were alive in the world.

That daughter now left behind is Moira. She grows alone in Whithren, without anyone to explain her dream, her unique difference, or her place in the world. As a result, she resolves to leave Whithren at all costs, and employs the help of Lawrence, a wounded young man engaged in the criminal enterprise of stealing tickets.

This begins a series of events that echo over the next thirty-five years of their life, the life of a child found screaming on the rocks, and through the alleys and coasts of Whithren...a city hidden in the fog, wanting in heat, now beginning again.

If that sounds ambitious, that's because it is. And that's only the start: Bateman envisions this as "the first, intimate chapter in a long line of films about the people, places, and legends of Anmaere," which means that as long as he can find financing, we might be about to enter a whole new cinematic universe here. And considering this one is a lower-budget, filmmaker-driven, independent universe that doesn't have to meet any requirements of selling toys or setting up spin-offs, I'm very excited about the prospects here. But before we put the cart before the horse, let's see if this first movie has the goods.

The Wanting Mare hits VOD and available theaters on February 5, 2021, along with a half-hour documentary about the making of the movie.