Just a day into the 2024 Sundance Film Festival, Netflix has swooped on Ibelin, a new feature doc from Norwegian filmmaker Benjamin Ree (The Painter and the Thief), in the first acquisition of the festival.
World premiering in Park City on Thursday afternoon, the title playing in World Cinema Documentary Competition tells the story of Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated existence, later discovering that Mats had long been leading a vibrant digital life that left a profound impact on a community of fellow gamers.
The film takes us on a journey through the breadth of Steen’s adventurous online life, introducing us to Ibelin, his charismatic World of Warcraft persona. Through reconstructed animated moments from his gameplay, narrated entries from his blog and interviews with people who knew him as Ibelin,...
World premiering in Park City on Thursday afternoon, the title playing in World Cinema Documentary Competition tells the story of Mats Steen, a Norwegian gamer who died of a degenerative muscular disease at the age of 25. His parents mourned what they thought had been a lonely and isolated existence, later discovering that Mats had long been leading a vibrant digital life that left a profound impact on a community of fellow gamers.
The film takes us on a journey through the breadth of Steen’s adventurous online life, introducing us to Ibelin, his charismatic World of Warcraft persona. Through reconstructed animated moments from his gameplay, narrated entries from his blog and interviews with people who knew him as Ibelin,...
- 1/19/2024
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
A remake of Benjamin Rees’ documentary “The Painter and the Thief” is in the works with Neon, who is co-developing the project with Studiocanal and Blueprint Pictures
The Norwegian film follows the artist Barbora Kysilkova and her friendship with Karl Bertil-Nordland, a man who stole her artwork. Neon acquired the remake rights along with the documentary following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won for “Creative Storytelling” award.
“The Painter and the Thief” has received very positive reviews from critics. Variety’s Peter Debruge said in his review, “Incredible. That’s the word that comes to mind with Benjamin Ree’s ‘The Painter and the Thief,’ a stranger-than-fiction friendship story in which vérité techniques produce unbelievable results.”
The film has won multiple awards across the festival circuit, most recently taking the best documentary feature” award out of the BFI London Film Festival. It received two Critics...
The Norwegian film follows the artist Barbora Kysilkova and her friendship with Karl Bertil-Nordland, a man who stole her artwork. Neon acquired the remake rights along with the documentary following its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won for “Creative Storytelling” award.
“The Painter and the Thief” has received very positive reviews from critics. Variety’s Peter Debruge said in his review, “Incredible. That’s the word that comes to mind with Benjamin Ree’s ‘The Painter and the Thief,’ a stranger-than-fiction friendship story in which vérité techniques produce unbelievable results.”
The film has won multiple awards across the festival circuit, most recently taking the best documentary feature” award out of the BFI London Film Festival. It received two Critics...
- 11/2/2020
- by Dave McNary
- Variety Film + TV
A painter gets to know the criminal who stole her works in an intimate and electrically charged study of artist and muse
In 2015, a pair of thieves broke into an Oslo art gallery in broad daylight and stole two hyperrealist paintings by the Czech painter Barbora Kysilkova. It was reported on Norwegian news as a brazen heist by master criminals, but the thieves failed to spot CCTV cameras and were soon arrested. The ringleader, a heavily tattooed heroin addict called Karl Bertil-Nordland, was put on trial. In court, Kysilkova walked over and asked him why he stole her paintings. There’s an audio recording of his answer: “Because they were beautiful.” She invited him to pose for a portrait – after he got out of prison.
So begins this astonishing, emotionally electric documentary about the unexpected friendship between artist and thief. In her studio, while painting Norland, Kysilkova grills him about...
In 2015, a pair of thieves broke into an Oslo art gallery in broad daylight and stole two hyperrealist paintings by the Czech painter Barbora Kysilkova. It was reported on Norwegian news as a brazen heist by master criminals, but the thieves failed to spot CCTV cameras and were soon arrested. The ringleader, a heavily tattooed heroin addict called Karl Bertil-Nordland, was put on trial. In court, Kysilkova walked over and asked him why he stole her paintings. There’s an audio recording of his answer: “Because they were beautiful.” She invited him to pose for a portrait – after he got out of prison.
So begins this astonishing, emotionally electric documentary about the unexpected friendship between artist and thief. In her studio, while painting Norland, Kysilkova grills him about...
- 10/30/2020
- by Cath Clarke
- The Guardian - Film News
The Painter and The Thief is the kind of batshit real-life story that practically demands the documentary treatment. The unlikely friendship between artist Barbora Kysilkova and Karl Bertil-Nordland, the drug addict and thief who stole one of her paintings from its gallery in 2015. As their dynamic evolves the story becomes riddled with the kinds of twists and turns that rival most mystery fiction. Yet Benjamin Ree’s documentary tempers its unbelievable story with a humanity and warmth which reveals the best of reality.
To its credit the documentary resists the temptation to frame itself as a kind of mystery around the missing paintings. Establishing quickly that Karl Bertil, high at the time of the theft, has no memory of what happened. Instead The Painter and The Thief is about exactly that, Barbora and Karl Bertil’s relationship as he serves as the subject for a series of her paintings. A...
To its credit the documentary resists the temptation to frame itself as a kind of mystery around the missing paintings. Establishing quickly that Karl Bertil, high at the time of the theft, has no memory of what happened. Instead The Painter and The Thief is about exactly that, Barbora and Karl Bertil’s relationship as he serves as the subject for a series of her paintings. A...
- 10/7/2020
- by Liam Macleod
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The Painter and the Thief, Benjamin Ree’s documentary on a curious friendship, starts with a crime. The Czech artist Barbora Kysilkova is exhibiting her work in an Oslo gallery — she’s recently moved to Norway to live with her husband — when two paintings are stolen. They are worth roughly 20,000 euros together; one of them, “Swan Song,” is considered to be her masterpiece. Surveillance footage captures a duo entering the building through a back door and exiting with two rolled-up canvases. The culprits are later identified and caught. During a hearing,...
- 5/22/2020
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.