‘Fast and Furious’ Meets ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ in Emil Langballe’s Disability Dramedy Doc ‘Petrolheads,’ With Verità Films Handling Sales (Exclusive)

When Martin’s big brother, Emil Langballe (“Theatre of Violence”), decided to become a filmmaker, his sibling had one request: he wanted a film made about him. The Danish documentarian spent years trying to figure out how to best capture his brother on screen. One day, Martin told Emil he and his best friend Casper had started a blog to chronicle their search for the perfect 1994 Honda Civic. Thus was born “Petrolheads,” world premiering at Cph:dox and acquired for international sales by Verità Films (formerly Syndicado Film Sales).

Speaking with Variety ahead of the film’s premiere, Langballe recalls how Martin was first brought into his family as a five-month-old foster baby, eventually joining the clan permanently. Soon after came a disability diagnosis. “My brother experienced this deep sense of loneliness as a young man,” says the director. “Then he met Casper, and they spoke freely about their feelings for each other.