SHOW INFORMATION
THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN
Director: Benjamin Ree | Norway 2024
A parent’s greatest desire for their children is for them to live a fulfilling life with friendships and love. Born with a degenerative muscular disease, Mats Steen’s life narrows until as a young adult he spends much of his day in his bedroom on his modified computer, seemingly disconnected with the real world. His family views his life as lonely and isolated.
When he dies aged 25, his parents post a final message to Mats’ blog, not knowing whether anyone would even read it… until their inbox is flooded with hundreds of emails from online friends around the world who had connected with Mats through the online role-playing game World of Warcraft and his dashing virtual avatar Ibelin.
Director Benjamin Ree vividly re-imagines Ibelin’s life within World of Warcraft where Ibelin poignantly enjoys so many of the things Mats couldn’t – he’s buff and goes for daily jogs, meets friends for a beer, chats up girls and falls in love. Interspersed with interviews with family and the friends Mats made online, Ree’s heart-rending film portrays the power of human connection and a life well lived; a truly remarkable life. — Sally Woodfield
“With whip-smart filmmaking that weaves together the physical and digital worlds, The Remarkable Life of Ibelin is powerful cinema that uses its stylistic experimentation for distinctly humanist means, breathing life into a person’s story when it seemed like there were few dimensions left to explore. 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.” — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety
“It is an emotionally shattering, crucial film for getting a firmer grasp on disabled lives, online communities, and, to a less important but also fascinating degree, gaming as more than a time-wasting hobby. This documentary means everything to me.” — Robert Kojder, Flickering Myth
“Through films as touching and powerful as these, there is hope we can continue on our own journeys following a truly selfless example.” — Lex Briscuso, The Wrap
“You need time to unwrap the ball of emotion whose center turned you to tears. Ibelin is a special film.” — Robert Daniels, RogerEbert.com
TICKET PRICING
SUNDAY 18 AUGUST, 12.15PM
ADULT: $20.00 + bookings fees
CONCESSION*: $17.00 + booking fees
CHILD (14 and under): $15.00 + booking fees
*Discount available on presentation of current relevant ID for:
Student/Senior 65+/Community Services Card/Film Society/
Film Guilds/Regent Theatre Friends
OUR TERMS & CONDITIONS Refer our Terms & Conditions
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Theatre Etiquette
- Please turn off all your electronic devices before you come into the auditorium.
- If you have taken snacks from our bar back to your seat, try not to rustle when the house lights go down.
- If you are late to a show, get comfortable in our bar area until we can turn the house lights back on so you can find your seat.
- Camera flashes occasionally make performers stumble – over their lines or their feet – so we prefer that you don’t use flash (or any other) photography.
- Please keep your feet on the floor – someone counting the beat on the back of your seat can be distracting.
- Dancing in the aisles sounds like fun but it might make our Circle collapse. If you really need to dance (and it’s the right sort of show), please book seats in the Stalls or make your way out to the foyer.
- We encourage you to introduce your children to the arts, but please also teach them to watch and listen quietly and peacefully.
