| The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | |
| Director: | Benjamin Ree |
| Producer: | Ingvil Giske |
| Cinematography: | Rasmus Tukia Tore Vollan |
| Editing: | Robert Stengård |
| Music: | Uno Helmersson |
| Distributor: | Netflix |
| Runtime: | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country: | Norway |
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (originally titled Ibelin) is a 2024 Norwegian documentary by Benjamin Ree.[2]
Mats Steen, a Norwegian man born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, becomes increasingly unable to participate in everyday activities. As a result, he spends most of his time playing video games, particularly World of Warcraft. His parents worry that it may cause him to miss out on life, unaware of what he does in the game.
Towards the end of his life, he starts a blog about living with his disease. When he dies at the age of 25, he leaves behind the password for his family. They use the blog to announce his death, which leads to dozens of people replying. The film tells the story of his life in the World of Warcraft guild Starlight—where he played the character Ibelin Redmoore—through animations based on the game, interspersed with retrospectives from his guild members, family, and excerpts from his blog.
As Ibelin, Mats kept his real life identity and his medical condition a secret, worried that other guild members would treat him differently if they knew. To help hide his identity, he refused to communicate in any other form than text, but he still developed close relationships with other guild members. He was perceived as a reliable friend they could share their problems with.
Mats’ condition worsens over time, and it becomes harder for him to play the game. He appears more agitated, causing drama regarding his relationships in the guild, eventually leading him to lash out at some of the guild members. As Mats’ condition deteriorates, he develops severe breathing difficulties and has to be hospitalised. A friend from the guild becomes concerned regarding Mats’ absence, and confronts him about it. Mats decides to tell that friend about his condition, and expresses his fear of other people finding out. His friend encourages Mats to tell the other guild members, and Mats decides to apologise to the guild about his previous behaviour. He later shares his blog with them.
Eventually, Mats dies from muscular dystrophy. Five guild members from abroad attend his funeral in Oslo. The rest gather in the game, which becomes a yearly tradition. The film ends with a shot of his tombstone, which reads Mats "Ibelin" Steen.
Ibelin premiered on 19 January 2024 in the World Documentary Competition at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival where it won 2 awards, the Audience Award: World Cinema Documentary and The Directing Award: World Cinema Documentary. Shortly after, Netflix acquired distribution rights to the film.[3] The film continued to screen at festivals such as the Chicago Critics Film Festival in May and the New Zealand International Film Festival in August, with the title expanded to The Remarkable Life of Ibelin.[4] [5] It has been selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024, under the World Cinema section.[6]
Variety praised the film, stating "It’s a world unto itself, and a glowing example of how moviemaking—like a person’s digital footprint—can be a form of immortality that soothes even the most devastating loss."[7] Other reviews were also extremely positive.[8] [9] [10] Cineeuropa found that Ree "ends up with a film that’s not about death; rather, it’s about friendship, love and life."[11]
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sundance Film Festival | 28 January 2024 | World Cinema Documentary – Grand Jury Prize | The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | [12] | |
| World Cinema Documentary – Audience Award | |||||
| World Cinema Documentary – Directing | Benjamin Ree | ||||
| Amanda Awards | 23 August 2024 | Best Film | Benjamin Ree & Ingvil Giske | [13] | |
| Best Documentary Film | |||||
| Best Director | Benjamin Ree | ||||
| Best Editing | Robert Stengård | ||||
| Best Visual Effects | Rasmus Tukia, Ada Wikdahl, Chris Kongshaug, Derek Bancroft, Sindre Hammersbøen & Arash Ebrahimi | ||||
| Zurich Film Festival | 13 October 2024 | Best International Documentary Film | The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | [14] | |
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | 10 November 2024 | Best Documentary Feature | [15] | ||
| Best Biographical Documentary | |||||
| Best Director | Benjamin Ree | ||||
| Best Score | Uno Helmersson | ||||
| Best Editing | Robert Stengård | ||||
| International Documentary Association Awards | 5 December 2024 | Best Feature Documentary | Benjamin Ree, Ingvil Giske | [16] | |
| Best Original Music Score | Uno Helmersson | ||||
| European Film Awards | 7 December 2024 | European Young Audience Award | The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | [17] | |
| Astra Film Awards | 8 December 2024 | Best Documentary Feature | [18] | ||
| Cinema Eye Honors | 9 January 2025 | Audience Choice Prize | [19] | ||
| Outstanding Visual Design | Rasmus Tukia and Ada Wikdahl | ||||
| Outstanding Original Score | Uno Helmersson | ||||