THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN

For Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who suffered from a degenerative muscular disease, his time spent playing World of Warcraft gave him a powerful way to connect with a community of like-minded people. He was able to form deep friendships across vast distances despite his physical disability because of a passion and pastime that he kept hidden from his family. Steen passed away at the age of 25, and his parents thought his disease had kept him isolated — but in reality, he’d been an integral and beloved part of a digital community that loudly mourned his passing. What unfurls on the screen is a true story of great compassion and emotion; one that can only happen in the 21st century. This documentary by filmmaker Benjamin Ree takes a posthumous deep dive into Steen’s digital life, interviewing his best friends and competitors and plumbing Steen’s own archives. The film, which premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, would win two awards: International Audience and International Directors Grand Jury prizes. For a gamer or anyone who lives on the web, IBELIN captures the importance of digital connections and the friends we make on the journey that is life.