First Trailer for ‘The Remarkable Life of Ibelin’ Gamer Documentary

First Trailer for ‘The Remarkable Life of Ibelin’ Gamer Documentary

by Alex Billington
September 16, 2024
Source: YouTube

“It was just a virtual kiss, but boy I could almost feel it.” Netflix has revealed the first official trailer for an acclaimed documentary film titled The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, formerly known as just Ibelin (the name of his game character) at its debut earlier this year. The film premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival in January, where it won the Directing Award and Audience Award in its doc category. Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the young age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a very lonely & isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world. It turns out he was a devoted gamer, and had built a charismatic profile in World of Warcraft (WoW) as the character called “Ibelin” and was known by many. The film takes place partially in World of Warcraft, while also showing both sides of Mats. I gave it a positive review at Sundance, saying “it’s rare to see such a positive, optimistic film about tech and gaming these days.” Highly recommend this.

Official trailer (+ poster) for Benjamin Ree’s The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, direct from YouTube:

When Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at age 25, his parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated existence. They were unaware that Mats had long been leading a vibrant digital life that had left a profound impact on a community of fellow gamers. The film takes us on a journey through the breadth of Mats Steen’s adventurous online life, introducing us to Ibelin, his charismatic World of Warcraft persona. Through reconstructed animated moments from his gameplay, narrated entries from his blog & interviews with people who knew him as Ibelin, a picture of a remarkable young man emerges, one that underscores how community and soulful relationships can transcend the boundaries of the physical world. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, also known as just Ibelin, is directed by Norwegian doc filmmaker Benjamin Ree, director of the films Magnus and The Painter and the Thief previously. Produced by Ingvil Giske; co-produced by Hans Andreas Fay. This initially premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival this year (our review). Netflix debuts The Remarkable Life of Ibelin doc in select theaters on October 18th, 2024, streaming on Netflix worldwide starting October 25th this fall.

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