Growing Down (Minden Rendben)

When widower Sándor becomes the sole witness to a serious incident involving his twelve-year-old son, he is forced into an agonizing dilemma: tell the truth, or shield his child from prison. Growing Down puts family bonds and moral character to the ultimate test. Director Bálint Dániel Sós, co-founder of the Hungarian audiovisual collective Kinopravda, made his name in advertising, and his feature debut stands out for its striking visuals. Shot in expressive grayscale and sharp black-and-white contrasts, the film unfolds as a tense moral drama. Premiering in Berlin’s brand-new Perspectives section for first features, Sós confidently challenges the viewer with a piercing meditation on guilt, punishment, and kinship—without ever becoming didactic. Leading the cast is Szabolcs Hajdu, an acclaimed filmmaker in his own right as well as a celebrated actor.