#Mats Ibelin Steen

[whenawomanisaround]

screenshots from before, during, and after the walk in memory of the 10th anniversary of Ibelin's passing, from argent dawn-eu tonight

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[edsonjnovaes]

Musings of life by Mats Ibelin

The Journey has Come to an End Our beloved son, brother and best friend left us this night. Mia, Trude and Robert – Musings of life. Mats “Ibelin” – 19 nov 2014 A Extraordinária Vida de Ibelin (2024) – Documentário. Netflix December 23rd I was home again! My sister gave me a hug and we had the most beautiful Christmas tree in the living room. All this was worth fighting for, death would have…

[surinnsenpai]

Can anyone explain what button Ibelin "can't seem to reach"?

As someone who hasn't played WOW, I feel like that one scene where he can't help(?) the others in battle is more significant than what it lets on and symbolises.

[randomrichards]

THE REMARKABLE LIFE OF IBELIN:

Death of a young man

The lives he’s touched in Warcraft

His parents find truth

[boufsy]

Came to show love to Mats "Ibelin" Steen <3

If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend watching "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin".

[thecosmiccircus]

'The Remarkable Life of Ibelin' Is A Touching Look At A Life Lived Online

If motion pictures are vehicles for empathy, then documentaries are that in its purest form. The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, a new documentary from Netflix, centers on the experiences of its title character, Ibelin, an investigator player avatar in World of Warcraft who was known to be a roguish, deeply loyal player who touched the lives of those around him. In reality, Ibelin was Mats Steen, a…

[theemotionmachine]

Finding Meaning in Virtual Worlds: How Online Gaming and Digital Communities Can Transform Lives

Virtual worlds and online gaming have become a new source of meaning, purpose, and belonging in today’s world, especially for those who struggle with loneliness, social anxiety, or physical disabilities. The new documentary The Remarkable Life of Ibelin shares the inspiring story of Mats Steen, a young Norwegian man with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, who built a meaningful life through the popular game World of Warcraft.

Read more here!

[magpiedminx]

"When Norwegian gamer Mats Steen died at age 25, his parents mourned what they thought was an isolated life. It was only once they had access to his blog that they discovered the deep friendships he created virtually before passing away from a degenerative muscular disease. They were unaware that Mats had long been leading a vibrant digital life that had left a profound impact on a community of fellow gamers. The film takes us on a journey through the breadth of Mats Steen's adventurous online life, introducing us to Ibelin, his charismatic World of Warcraft persona. Through reconstructed animated moments from Mats' gameplay, narrated entries from his blog and interviews with people who knew him as Ibelin, a picture of a remarkable young man emerges, one that underscores how community and soulful relationships can transcend the boundaries of the physical world."

My heart isn't strong enough to watch it. You WILL bawl your eyes out from all accounts, But apparently it's beautiful and poignant and the art of community and humanity. It's streaming on Netflix.

[tvrundownusa]

tvrundown USA 2024.10.25

Friday, October 25th:

(exclusive): Transformers: EarthSpark (Para+, season 3 available, all 8 eps), Hellbound (netflix, Korean dark fantasy, season 2 available, all 6 eps), The Last Night at Tremore Beach (netflix, Spanish thriller, limited series, all 8 eps), "Simone Biles Rising (part 2)" (netflix, next 2 eps available, docuseries finale)

(movies): "Azrael" (Shudder, horror), "Surprise 3" (TUBI, thriller, ~100mins), "Don't Move" (netflix, horror thriller, ~90mins), "Hijack '93" (netflix, true African drama, ~90mins), "Do Patti" (netflix, Indian mystery thriller, ~2hrs++), "Road Diary: Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band" (dsn+|hulu, documentary, ~100mins), "The Remarkable Life of Ibelin" (netflix, Norwegian gamer Mats Steen documentary, ~105mins)

(streaming weekly): Before (apple+, psychological thriller, limited series, first 2 eps), Disclaimer (apple+), La Maison (apple+), Angel of Death (MAX), The Confidante (MAX, penultimate), Ayla & The Mirrors (dsn+, next 5 eps), The Great British Baking Show (netflix), RuPaul's Drag Race Global All Stars (Para+, season 1 finale), Judy Justice (APrime|freevee, season 3B finale)

(also new): MLB World Series (FOX, first game of up-to-seven, live), The Last Drive-in with Joe Bob Briggs (Shudder, "Beezlebub Bash")

(hour 1): S.W.A.T. (CBS), Happy's Place (NBC) / . / Lopez vs. Lopez (NBC), Shark Tank (ABC), Whose Line Is It Anyway? (theCW, 60mins), Sweetpea (Starz, 45mins)

(hour 2): Fire Country (CBS), Joan (theCW), Fat Joe Talks (Starz), Scariest House in America (HGTV, season 1 finale)

(hour 3): Blue Bloods (CBS), Three Women (Starz), Real Time with Bill Maher (HBO), Scare Tactics (USA) / . / Hysteria! (USA, ~70mins)

(hour 4 - latenight): Hysteria! (USA, contd), The Graham Norton Show (BBCAm|AcornTV|AMC+), "It's Florida, Man" (HBO)

[ulvespill]

Ibelin - Filmanmeldelse

Vi har vært å sett “Ibelin” dokumentaren, samt en kort samtale med kjente fjes rundt filmen. Den norskproduserte dokumentaren “Ibelin” tar seerne med på en hjerteskjærende reise gjennom livet til den unge gamer Mats Steen, som døde av den degenerative muskelsykdommen Duchennes muskeldystrofi i en alder av kun 25 år. Filmen tar oss med på en emosjonell reise gjennom Mats’ liv, og viser oss…

[yessadirichards]

'In the Summers' and 'Porcelain War' win top prizes at Sundance Film Festival

PARK CITY, Utah

“In the Summers,” an affecting, years-spanning drama about a complicated parent-children relationship, nabbed the Grand Jury prize at the 40th Sundance Film Festival, while the top honor for documentary went to “Porcelain War,” about a Ukrainian couple who craft fragile, intricately painted ceramics while war rages around them.

Those two awards, announced Friday in Park City, Utah, both honored directorial debuts. “In the Summers,” written and directed by Alessandra Lacorazza, poetically follows an imperfect father and his daughters over nearly two decades. Lacorazza also won for directing.

“To the queers, to the Latin, to the immigrants, this is for you," said Lacorazza, a Colombian American filmmaker whose film is set in Las Cruces, New Mexico.

“Porcelain War,” which follows last year’s “20 Days in Mariupol” as a Sundance documentary prize-winner that captures the war in Ukraine, was made by Brendan Bellomo and Slava Leontyev.

“This award is because of the bravery of the people of Ukraine,” said Bellomo. “And this award is for the beauty of the people of Ukraine.”

“Sujo,” about an orphaned boy trying to escape the grip of Mexican cartel violence, took the Grand Jury prize for world dramatic cinema. “A New Kind of Wilderness,” about a Norwegian family living off the grid, won the jury award for world documentary.

The Festival Award, voted on by Sundance audiences, went to “Daughters,” Natalie Rae and Angela Patton’s moving documentary following four girls as they prepare for a special daddy-daughter dance with their imprisoned fathers. “Daughters” also won the audience award for U.S. documentary.

Sean Wang's “Dìdi,” a coming-of-age film about a 13-year-old Taiwanese American boy, took the audience award for U.S. dramatic film. “Dìdi” also won a juried award for its ensemble.

“Ibelin,” which was acquired by Netflix out of Sundance, won the audience award for world cinema documentary and a juried award for Benjamin Ree's direction. The film follows the story of Mats Steen, a Norwegian who died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. Only after his death did his parents discover how widely known and celebrated Steen was online for his personal blog and via World of Warcraft.

“Girls Will Be Girls,” about a Himalayan boarding school, won the audience award for world cinema drama. The Darren Aronofsky-produced “Little Death,” starring David Schwimmer as a TV writer, won the NEXT Innovator award. The NEXT audience award winner was the Irish drama “Kneecap,” about a Belfast rap trio, co-starring Michael Fassbender.

Award winners are available to stream on the festival's website through the close of Sundance on Sunday.

Sundance winners often go on to be some of the most acclaimed films of the year. Last year's festival produced Celine Song’s “Past Lives," nominated for best picture and best screenplay on Tuesday by the Academy Awards. Other Sundance titles to reach the Oscars include 2022 best picture-winner “CODA,”“Summer Of Soul (...Or, When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” and “Minari.”

The 40th edition brought high-profile films including Jesse Eisenberg's well-received “A Real Pain,” starring him and Kieran Culkin; the Will Ferrell, Harper Steele road trip “Will & Harper"; and the emotional documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story.”

This year, “A Real Pain," which also picked up a screenwriting award for Eisenberg, was among the top sales, selling for $10 million to Searchlight Pictures. Neon acquired Steven Soderbergh's ghost story “Presence.” And the buzzy horror thriller “It's What's Inside" sold to Netflix for $17 million.

[ecsundance]

2024 Sundance Film Festival Buzz

We made it! We are finally at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

We are about four days into the festival which runs from January 18th to the 28th. Even though it is early in the festival, there is already a lot of buzz. In case you don’t know what I mean by that, buzz refers to what everyone is talking about, what they are all excited about, and what they are all thinking about! This could be about the films, the different events, the celebrities, etc.

No matter where you go you hear buzz. People are talking buzz on buses, in ticket lines, at restaurants, coffee shops, and basically anywhere you can think of.

Many films are getting a good amount of buzz with some even getting picked up by major studios and streaming services.

On January 19th Variety posted that one of the first festival sales had occurred. This was the Netflix purchase of the documentary, Ibelin. This film is about a Norwegian gamer, Mats Steen, who at 25 years old died of a degenerative muscle disease. His parents, sad because they felt their son did not have many friends due to his illness, learned through condolences from Mats’ fellow gamers that he had friends from all around the world.

Channel 4 News San Antonio also announced that Hit Man was bought by Netflix as well. The rom-com film, directed by native Texan Richard Linklater, was inspired by a true story about a man that goes undercover as a hit man. Things soon become complicated as a potential client is a woman in distress.

I have also heard some buzz about Freaky Tales by multiple people on buses and in lines, etc. Basically, they are saying that the film is not living up to all the hype that it was given. After initially reading about this film, I really wanted to see it but couldn’t seem to procure a ticket for it. However, when I went in person to waitlist for the film, I was lucky enough to be gifted a ticket for it. After seeing it, although I did enjoy it, I unfortunately tend to agree with this buzz that the hype surrounding Freaky Tales seems to have been unjustified.

I also heard a lot of buzz about DiDi, Presence, and Krazy House.

For DiDi they stated it is a great film and a must watch at Sundance this year. I am hoping I still have a shot at getting a ticket for it.

For Presence, the buzz is that it is also a great film, but it is so scary that it is causing some people to have to walk out of the theater. I have not seen this one yet and I am not sure if I am up to being scared like that.

I have seen Krazy House, and I do agree that it is a great film. It is so funny and there is never a dull moment even during the violent killings. They land perfect jokes that make everyone laugh.

Before the premiere of the Greatest Night in Pop at the Eccles, everyone was very excited to see the film. There was a lot of good buzz leading up to it and it did not disappoint. Afterwards there was a Q&A session that included the director, Bao Nguyen, producer, Julia Nottingham, as well as Lionel Ritchie. It was cool. One of the questions asked was how Dan Aykroyd qualified to be in the group. You just have to remember he was one of the Blues Brothers.  

In addition to hearing buzz, I have also seen buzz posted online. One item that I found interesting involves the discreet transportation arrangements for celebrities. I saw this on ABC4 Salt Lake City. In this report it explains how some celebrities try to maintain their privacy when arriving at the Sundance Film Festival. They do this by flying into Heber Valley airport which only accepts small private planes. By flying into Heber Valley, celebrities can avoid the paparazzi. It is worth noting that the number of arrivals increases during Sundance from ten to fifty a day. Tight airport security helps keep VIP arrivals under wraps. One can only imagine who is on these flights. As much as I would love to get a glimpse of them now and again, I can understand they want to maintain some privacy. As Wendy Swann who is one of the transportation providers stated in the article, “They’re normal, everyday people that have a job to do, like everyone else.”

That’s all the buzz I have! Until next time!

Ryan McCormick

[sillylovingpupper]

Someone who worlds warcraft please tell me where I get this pet

[argentdandelion]

Juni Cortez is a Callous Little Fool

Author Patreon - Author Ko-Fi

In Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, Juni Cortez, retired kid superspy, learns his sister Carmen is held captive by the Toymaker, an evil ex-operative banished to cyberspace. To save Carmen and stop the Toymaker’s schemes, he enters the Toymaker’s game, the mega-popular virtual-reality video game Game Over.

When Juni enters the game, he meets three beta testers: cool guy Rez, smart guy Francis, and tough, strong guy Arnold, who eventually choose to help him upon believing he’s “The Guy”, a figure who can help them reach the supposedly unwinnable final level of the game. Later on, the OSS, a superspy agency, offers to send in one person to help him. Juni chooses his grandpa (Valentin), once a superspy himself who had been paraplegic and wheelchair-bound for 30 years. The recurring opponent Demetra later joins their group, evasively offering her “intuition” along with the others’ brains, coolness, and strength.

But when he meets Rez, Francis, and Arnold in the “real world” near the end of the film, they don’t look as they do in the game. To this, Juni looks at them scornfully and says, "Reality check.”

Juni Cortez is a callous little fool.

Evidence

Very soon after Valentin enters the game, he gets a power-up, “Mega Legs”, which not only restores his long-lost ability to walk, but gives him incredible jumping ability and a shiny, armor-covered superheroic physique. Valentin’s great strength and mobility prove very handy for Juni and the group, and Juni turns to him for advice multiple times.

Near the end of the game, Valentin is reluctant to leave for the real world. In Game Over, he can walk and run, and Juni looks at him like he's "some kind of super hero", but in the real world, he'll be confined to a wheelchair. He agrees to go back in Juni promises him he'll look at Valentin no differently than in the game, for, even though he'll be in a wheelchair, on the inside Valentin feels like "this" (presumably a superheroic figure).

Section 2: Programmers

One level, the group knows some programmers are around; Francis describes them as "the braniacs who wrote the book for the game". As they’ll bounce them back to Level 1 to catch them as a consequence of earlier cheating, the group scatters to avoid them. However, they find Juni after he and Demetra consult a forbidden map of the whole game. The programmers menacingly taunt Juni, instantly making him lose one of his lives as they taunt him. Scared, Juni calls out for his grandpa:

Programmers: "Listen to that, E-Dawg. 'The Guy' is calling his grandpa.[Sarcastically] I'm so scared." "What's he gonna do? Drool on us?" (Valentin dramatically steps in from behind and picks them up by the scruffs of their necks) Valentin: "You are programmers? Let's see what you really look like."

Francis scans them to reveal their real appearances, showing 1980s-Microsoft-employee-style dorks. Valentin deems them "very unimpressive" and Rez snarkily calls them "computer nerds".1

Section 3: Demetra

Demetra was Juni’s opponent in a robot arena, and later tried to stop him, twice, in the Mega Race. (i.e., the world’s most intense game of Virtual Reality Mario Kart) Later, she joins the group, offering her “intuition”. When one of the game’s challenges pit Juni and Arnold against each other for the group to progress, with the loser being removed from the game, Juni fares poorly. Demetra swaps herself with Juni, sacrificing herself so Juni can go rescue his sister.

The beta testers try to “kill” (make him lose all his game lives) Juni and his sister, out of the belief Juni is “The Deceiver”, a figure in the game who tricks players and keeps them from getting to Level 5 and its “untold riches”. When they change their minds and enter Level 5, Demetra soon re-appears. Carmen confidently states Demetra isn’t real, slicing through her to expose her as just a hologram. She’s the Deceiver, an AI whose purpose was to hinder them. Juni doesn’t share Carmen’s scorn. It turns out Demetra had developed a crush on Juni, and helps them all to escape as the Toymaker tries to trap them in the game.

Juni Cortez Neglecting the Evidence

In the real world, the spy agency tracks down Rez, Francis, and Arnold from their email addresses and brings them in front of Juni. Juni still looks pretty cool as pudgy-faced preteens go, but, shockingly, the beta testers look nothing like they do in real life. Francis has no glasses and has a biker jacket, Rez looks like a 1980s Microsoft-employee-style dork, and Arnold has glasses.

Juni: “What happened to Francis the Brain, Arnold the Strong, and Mr. Cool?” Francis: “Well, in the real world, I'm not that smart.” Arnold: “I'm not strong." Rez: “I’m not cool.”

To this, Juni just looks at them with an expression that morphs from shock, to bafflement, and then scorn, and dissmissively says: "Reality check." (When his grandpa is within earshot, no less)

One might want to cut Juni some slack; he's 12, at most. Yet, Juni Cortez says this even though he’s seen Francis being smart (reading through the tech manual and reporting on it), Arnold being strong (catapulting another player out of a car, attacking him, being acknowledged as the “strongest player”) and Rez being cool. (being unflappable and leading the other two) Worse, he says this despite knowing Demetra was more than her programming...and despite just having promised his grandpa he would look at him no differently in the real world even when confined to a wheelchair.

Admittedly, they did try to “kill” (in a video game sense) him and Carmen before reaching Level 5, out of the belief Juni was The Deceiver. They were also initially unfriendly to him, telling him to get to the next level in a way that was effective but made him lose a life, and only agreed to follow him and help him upon proving he was “The Guy” in the very dangerous Mega Race. On the other hand, the previous film shows he already holds his grandpa in high regard, and though Demetra was twice his opponent, her actions weren’t any worse than someone showing off skill in a competitive video game. (e.g., Mario Kart or Street Fighter)

Valentin’s reluctance to leave Game Over parallels that of a real person: Ibelin Redmoore. (or, rather, Mats Steen).2 Mats Steen had Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal genetic disorder that rendered him slumping, atrophied, and wheelchair-bound, a la the physicist Stephen Hawking. He found solace in the massively multi-player game World of Warcraft, where everyone saw him as his avatar/alter-ego, the handsome detective nobleman Ibelin Redmoore.

A friend of his in World of Warcraft, Kai Simon, said at his funeral:

"I met Mats in a world where it doesn't matter a bit who you are, what kind of body you have, or how you look in reality, behind the keyboard.”

Had Juni known Ibelin Redmoore...what would he have said?

(Trivia: Originally, I was going to write something about Spy Kids 3D, appropos of nothing, as an April Fool's Day joke earlier this year. This is just the rewritten version of the nearly-complete joke update.)

Which, in retrospect, is a ridiculous thing to say. He and the others love video games so much they're beta testers for a new virtual-reality video game in 2003, before video games were as "mainstream" and respected as they are now. Indeed, one could call Francis a nerd for his brainy mannerisms and glasses. Though...knowing Rez looks similar to one of the programmers in real life, perhaps he says this out of self-hating insecurity? ↩︎

Source: The BBC. ↩︎