Sundance audience award-winning documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin – which tells the story of quadriplegic World of Warcraft player Mats Steen – is set to debut on Netflix next month.
Norwegian gamer Steen battled the degenerative disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and passed away in 2014 aged 25. However, during his 25 years, he touched many lives via his World of Warcraft avatar, Ibelin.
“Unbeknownst to his relatives, Steen was able to form deep friendships across vast distances, because of his passion and pastime,” reads a Netflix feature on the documentary.
The Remarkable Life of Ibelin has been brought together by filmmaker Benjamin Ree, and features interviews with Steen’s friends and family.
In addition to using archival footage, Ree also worked with animators on the documentary. These animators “used models lifted directly from the game to show viewers exactly what [Steen] would have seen as he played the game between 2004 and 2014”.