Sundance 40th Film Festival

Sunday saw the last day of the fortieth Sundance Film Festival and as good Parkites, my wife and I took advantage of the annual event to go and see “Ibelin” the Festival’s directing award in the World Cinema Documentary category.

Director Benjamin Ree told the audience that although he did not know the subject of his film personally, he had seen himself on a VHS recording playing with the late Mats Steen in a playpen as a toddler, in Norway. The two were born in the late 1980s and their parents were friends.

Years later, when Ree (The Painter and The Thief, 2020 Sundance) learned of Steen’s passing from complications of Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy at the age of 25, he reached out to Mats’ parents to ask about making a documentary about their child’s fascinating life. 

An emotional film that I encourage every one to see.