Today in Sarajevo, we had the pleasure of presenting the East Doc Caravan Award to Kind of Adults, a Hungarian documentary project directed by Rita Balogh and Peter Akar. Presented at CineLink Industry Days during the Sarajevo Film Festival, the project stood out with its intimate portrait of a generation finding its way into adulthood. Congratulations to the entire team!
Kind of Adults offers an intimate and authentic look at the formative years of coming of age—a period that profoundly shapes how we navigate life later on. Beyond the strength and relevance of the subject itself, we have been following the project through our programmes for some time and believe it has strong potential on the international festival circuit. With the film expected to be completed within the next year, we feel this is the right moment for East Doc Caravan to support its journey towards audiences.
The jury gave the following statement: "A close-up on a generation coming of age, their rite of passage shaped by friendship, love and loss, as the country around them changes just as quickly. Filmed by the very hands that lived it, the film captures the moments that stay with us as we grow into adulthood."
The award provides year-long festival distribution support through the East Doc Caravan, IDF’s curated festival distribution initiative for outstanding documentary films from Central and Eastern Europe. The team will receive a tailored festival strategy, submissions to relevant international festivals, and promotion through the East Doc Caravan network and its online video library, helping the film reach wider audiences and maximise its international festival exposure.
The Sarajevo Film Festival and the East Doc Platform are the only two events at which the Institute of Documentary Film presents the East Doc Caravan Award.
Kind of Adults (dir. Rita Balogh, Peter Akar, prod. Rita Balogh, Hungary)
Co-created with Gen Z teenagers over six years, beginning with their high school graduation, this raw documentary combines self-shot and observational footage as its protagonists search for their adult selves while facing identity crises, depression and love.