Video games can be a transformative experience for some players, and that was especially true for Mats Steen. He was a young Norwegian with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a degenerative disease that took his life at just 25 years old. Steen's disease may have prevented him from living a normal life, but Netflix's new documentary, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, shows how he managed to carve out a place for himself in World of Warcraft.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin won the World Cinema Documentary Audience Award at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, and it’s not hard to see why. Although Steen passed away in 2014, he left behind many friends he made through countless hours of playing Warcraft. In the game, his character, Ibelin, was free to do almost anything Steen couldn’t. And it gave him a way to express himself that kept him from being isolated from the rest of the world.
Activision Blizzard lent its World of Warcraft assets to the film to allow the animators to recreate some of Steen's interactions with other players through his Ibelin character. This included a kiss given to Ibelin that meant a lot to Steen, who didn't have that kind of interaction with women outside of the game.
Filmmaker Benjamin Ree made The Remarkable Life of Ibelin from footage of Steen recorded by his family, in addition to interviews with friends and fellow players he met through Warcraft. Through them, the legend of Ibelin and the story of Mats Steen will live on.
Netflix will release The Remarkable Life of Ibelin on October 25.