The Remarkable Life of Ibelin (originally titled Ibelin) is a 2024 Norwegian documentary by Benjamin Ree.[2]
| The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Benjamin Ree |
| Produced by | Ingvil Giske[1] |
| Cinematography | Rasmus Tukia[1] Tore Vollan[1] |
| Edited by | Robert Stengård[1] |
| Music by | Uno Helmersson[1] |
| Distributed by | Netflix |
Release date |
|
Running time | 104 minutes[1] |
| Country | Norway |
| Language | Norwegian |
Content
The film documents the life of "Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25".[3] The title comes from the name of his character in World of Warcraft.[4]
Release
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.[5][6] It has been selected for the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2024, under the World Cinema section.[7]
Reception
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 20 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 8.2/10.[8] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 78 out of 100, based on 16 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[9] 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."[10] Other reviews were also extremely positive.[2][11][12][13] Cineeuropa found that Ree "ends up with a film that’s not about death; rather, it’s about friendship, love and life."[4]
Accolades
| Award | Date | Category | Recipient | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sundance Film Festival | 28 January 2024 | World Cinema Documentary – Grand Jury Prize | The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | Nominated | [14] |
| World Cinema Documentary – Audience Award | Won | ||||
| World Cinema Documentary – Directing | Benjamin Ree | Won | |||
| Amanda Awards | 23 August 2024 | Best Film | Benjamin Ree & Ingvil Giske | Won | [15] |
| Best Documentary Film | Nominated | ||||
| Best Director | Benjamin Ree | Nominated | |||
| Best Editing | Robert Stengård | Won | |||
| Best Visual Effects | Rasmus Tukia, Ada Wikdahl, Chris Kongshaug, Derek Bancroft, Sindre Hammersbøen & Arash Ebrahimi | Nominated | |||
| Zurich Film Festival | 13 October 2024 | Best International Documentary Film | The Remarkable Life of Ibelin | Nominated | [16] |
| Critics' Choice Documentary Awards | 10 November 2024 | Best Documentary Feature | Pending | [17] | |
| Best Biographical Documentary | Pending | ||||
| Best Director | Benjamin Ree | Pending | |||
| Best Score | Uno Helmersson | Pending | |||
| Best Editing | Robert Stengård | Pending |
References
- ^ a b c d e f "Ibelin". Sundance Film Festival. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ a b Ebiri, Bilge (19 January 2024). "The Moving Ibelin Captures a Life Only Seemingly Half-Lived". Vulture. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
- ^ a b Grobar, Matt (19 January 2024). "Netflix Snaps Up Sundance Doc 'Ibelin' From 'The Painter And The Thief' Helmer Benjamin Ree". Deadline. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Benjamin Ree • Director of Ibelin". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. 25 January 2024. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Oleszkiewicz, Anthony (21 May 2024). "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin [Chicago Critics Festival 2024]". Starburst. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ "Whānau Mārama: The Remarkable Life of Ibelin". New Zealand International Film Festival. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
- ^ Deb, Deepshikha (30 September 2024). "MAMI Mumbai Film Festival Unveils 2024 Official Lineup". High On Films. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
- ^ "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 17 March 2024.
- ^ "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 2 November 2024.
- ^ Adlakha, Siddhant (20 January 2024). "'Ibelin' Review: A Shattering Documentary About a Gamer's Secret Life". Variety. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Fienberg, Daniel (20 January 2024). "'Ibelin' Review: An Inspirational but Facile Documentary About Life, Death and Gaming". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ "'Ibelin' highlights young gamer's life and his profound impact on the digital community". KPCW | Listen Like a Local. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ Driessen, Kees (20 January 2024). "Sundance World Cinema Documentary Competition review: Ibelin by Benjamin Ree". Business Doc Europe. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
- ^ The Complete List of 2024 Sundance Film Festival Award Winners|Sundance Film Festival
- ^ Huser, Aleksander (27 August 2024). "Sex, docs and undead biggest winners at the Norwegian Amanda Awards". Nordisk Film & TV Fond. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
- ^ Del Don, Giorgia (15 October 2024). "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl y Black Box Diaries son las grandes triunfadoras del Festival de Zúrich". Cineuropa (in Spanish). Retrieved 18 October 2024.
- ^ Lewis, Hilary (14 October 2024). "'Sugarcane' Leads Critics Choice Documentary Awards Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 October 2024.