Emotionally driven and heartbreakingly thought-provoking, D Is for Distance documents the childhood and upbringing of Louis Petit. From a young child through to present day, the documentary unpacks Louis’ experience with a rare form of epilepsy. Brought to the screen by his parents and filmmakers, Christopher Petit and Emma Matthews – this family-led documentary depicts their arduous journey to receiving the right medication to help ease Louis’ symptoms.
Supported by the Finnish Film Foundation, the documentary is wrapped up in a road movie to cleverly symbolise Louis travelling on a journey. We see him travelling on trains, boarding boats, and climbing cliffs to show he’s constantly moving and evolving. Now 22 years-old, we sit in on family-filmed home footage. Emma documents his ‘black outs’, starting at age 12, which make up several clips throughout the documentary. It’s meant to feel intrusive. So we too feel the brunt of their frustration after the UK’s NHS refuses to give Louis the right medication.
A Parents Constant Battle
The documentary premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR). Undeniably a brilliant aspect behind D Is for Distance is majorly in the editing. Everything from its fast cuts and montage sequences to the personal voiceover narration from his mother’s perspective to tell Louis’ story. Archival home footage is intercut between cinema history, and present-day footage of Louis’ life now. There’s references to iconic moments in cinema. From early films, The Arrival of a Train (L’Arrivée d’un train en gare de La Ciotat) (1896) to A Trip to the Moon (1902) among other examples form a surrealist undertone.
The documentary achieves so much from both a personal perspective, and health perspective. It’s through the emotional storytelling that makes us root for the parents to achieve the main goal for their son. But we’re constantly reminded of the setbacks they must overcome. They explore all avenues from the bad connotations on how epilepsy has been perceived in the past (through witchcraft and treatment during wars etc.) to modern-day issues like care during COVID-19. There’s many reasons to get behind Louis’ story. His parents’ constant personal battles over the years largely shapes how this documentary is perceived.
Crafting a Thought-Provoking Documentary
In an extremely creative manner, the film connects Louis’ story to his father’s project; which explores a study on James Angelton (ex-chief of the CIA) and American writer, William Burroughs. Although sometimes this gets a little misconstrued. The constant back and forth from Louis’ story to transporting back in time to James Angelton is a little confusing. However, clearly a lot of hard work and impressive effort went into crafting this documentary. It’s thought-provoking and well-researched with supporting points of evidence to create their argument. The filmmakers certainly achieved a sense of paranoia. Particularly as they delved into the inner reality of the working mind. This was mainly achieved through archival footage which depicted the history of epilepsy and the ignorance of the health industry.
Beautifully Framed In A Cinematic Way
D Is for Distance is beautifully framed in a cinematic way. It’s filming took place in rural areas including Helsinki and a trip to Sápmi, Finland. There’s great personal reflections on Louis’ health too. Alongside exploring the trials and tribulations of epilepsy and delving into how their emotions, as well as, the medical and technology landscapes are developing. And what the future of these industries may look like.
But the most heartbreaking part of this documentary lies in Louis’ fading memories. His early childhood is long forgotten as he tries hard to remember his life before the black outs. Although his parents’ constant battles serve as a reminder on how far they have come in their journey. Not only in forging a path for Louis and his future but in all senses of personal and medical reasons too.
D Is for Distance (2026) is released across UK cinemas on 3rd April 2026. The documentary is available to stream on BFI Player on 11th May 2026.
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Rating: 3 Stars
