BFI Distribution has unveiled the new UK trailer and poster for the award-winning documentary D is for Distance. This comes ahead of its cinema release across the UK and Ireland on 3 April. A BFI Player release will follow on 11 May. The film chronicles a life‑changing journey experienced by Louis Petit. It is directed by his parents, filmmakers Christopher Petit (Radio On) and Emma Matthews (Arena – Night and Day, BBC).
A family story about memory, epilepsy and cinema
Deeply personal and quietly devastating, D is for Distance uses a montage of contemporary family and travel footage. It is interwoven with archival material from early cinema. The film retraces what happened after 12-year-old Louis Petit was suddenly struck by a rare, severe form of epilepsy. The condition was life‑threatening and apparently incurable. It wiped out his memory of childhood. This left his family to navigate both medical uncertainty and the emotional shock of that loss.
D is for Distance is structured as a poetic essay film. It becomes a rumination on memory. It also serves as a meditation on cinema, the NHS and family relationships. Through its fragmented images and layered sound, it offers an unflinching look at medical bureaucracy. The film also examines the stigma and ignorance that still surround epilepsy. It does this without reducing Louis’s experience to a simple narrative of tragedy or triumph.
A celebration of film and music
Jodhi May narrates the film. It is also a celebration of the moving image and its history. The film draws on early works by pioneering filmmakers including the Lumière brothers, Georges Méliès, Percy Stow and Cecil Hepworth. These archival fragments sit alongside the family’s own footage. They integrate Louis’s story into a longer narrative. This narrative shows how cinema records, distorts, and preserves our sense of reality.
Music plays a central role. The soundtrack ranges from Holger Czukay and The Everly Brothers to Ennio Morricone and King Krule. These tracks create shifting emotional textures. They echo the film’s movements between past and present, fear and resilience. The result is a work that focuses on the sensory experience of watching and listening. It is equally about its subject.
Festival journey and critical recognition
D is for Distance had its world premiere at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in 2025. Then, it had its UK premiere at the BFI London Film Festival. Since then, it has screened at multiple international festivals. Critics have highlighted its formal boldness. They also praised its emotional honesty in depicting life with epilepsy.
Release and Q&A screenings
BFI Distribution will release D is for Distance in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on 3 April. Its digital release on BFI Player will follow on 11 May. Around the time of release, Chris Petit, Emma Matthews and Louis Petit will take part in selected Q&A screenings. These include events at BFI Southbank. This offers audiences the chance to engage directly with the filmmakers and the subject of the film.
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