D is for Distance

A heartbreaking, but ultimately hopeful, account of the epilepsy of Louis Petit as documented by his parents, filmmakers Christopher Petit and Emma Matthews.

  • Directors

    Emma Matthews, Christopher Petit

  • Finland 2025. 88min

  • Digital

  • Certificate

    12A

  • A BFI Release

This deeply personal essay film about Louis Petit, whose severe epilepsy erased nearly all memories of his childhood, employs intimate family footage as it traces the emotional and practical consequences of living with memory loss, as well as the fragile process of reconstructing a sense of self. Moving between the personal and the political, it navigates the labyrinth of medical bureaucracy while reflecting on cinema’s power to preserve, distort and reimagine memory. As it unfolds, D is for Distance expands into a broader meditation on technology, capitalism and the systems that shape our bodies and minds. A quietly powerful portrait of resilience, Petit and Matthews’ film reveals how identity survives and adapts when memory disappears.

Rógan Graham, Film Programmer

The screenings on Friday 3 April 18:15 NFT2; Sunday 5 April 12:20 NFT3; Thursday 9 April 20:40 NFT4; Saturday 11 April 12:15 NFT3; Wednesday 15 April 18:40 NFT4; Thursday 16 April 20:45 NFT4 will be presented with Descriptive Subtitles.

Screening under Relaxed conditions with Descriptive subtitles (standard ticket price) Wednesday 8 April 18:30 NFT4.

See a preview of D is for Distance + Q&A with directors Emma Matthews and Chris Petit, and their son, Louis Petit on Thursday 2 April.