'A true, raw, emotional display of what our life is genuinely like'—how a documentary about a WoW player gave a vivid window into the lives of disabled gamers

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Benjamin Ree, director of The Remarkable Life of Ibelin, about his project—which follows the well-documented life of Mats ‘Ibelin’ Steen, a World of Warcraft player with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

DMD is one of many muscular dystrophy conditions, and is considered to be one of the most severe, with a life expectancy of 20 to 30 years. Steen died in 2014, and while his parents were worried he'd led an isolated and lonely existence, the flood...