The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin
8.297%96%
Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer, died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated life, when they started receiving messages from online friends around the world.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 1, 2025
Just want to give this one a shout out. It was one of my favorites at Sundance this year and it just dropped on Netflix but it’s not really being promoted very prominently. A doc that serves as a moving portrait of disability, and testament to digital/virtual communities (like this one🤩), and their ability to forge real connections (particularly for those where physical or other limitations make meaningful social interaction inhibited. It's a beautiful story of a man with degenerative disease that finds friendship, community and love in a digital space where his physical condition isn’t a limitation. It’s moving to see Mats Steen’s parents discover all of the people that Mats’ life touched over the years particularly since it was one of their greatest fears/regrets that Mats wouldn’t have a relationship filled existence. It’s simultaneously sad Mats kept so much secret even from the people he loved most.
Very cool concept for a documentary, though, that recreates moments from Mats’ digital life from the tens of thousands of hours of his “gameplay” log. Worth checking out.
Personal note: If I died and my family logged into my accounts after death, they’d be like, “He really just spent all that time trying to get people to watch The Kid Detective?”