Premiering at the 79th Locarno Film Festival, Kamila Serwicka’s feature directorial debut, Blossoming (A teraz wiosna), is a remarkably powerful exploration of trauma and resilience.
There is no more vulnerable subject than one’s own family, and Kamila Serwicka knows this well. Returning to her family home after 8 years away, camera poised, Blossoming (A teraz wiosna) documents her cramped six-person household, brought together again by the pandemic. What emerges is a reflective, courageous film about reclaiming space and the right to happiness after years of struggle.
As it begins, Serwicka sets out to film her mother’s story, focusing on her labour and care for the family, raising three daughters, working in the local supermarket in their small village near Kielce, Poland. Unfolding with a liminal, eerie air that foreshadows the struggles to come, we witness her mother’s diligent work, her sisters’ studies, and a house so silent despite also being overcrowded. What comes to light soon enough is the ongoing abuse from their alcoholic father, which transforms the film’s restraint into something far more unsettling, as the household’s silence acquires a new, painful meaning.
Documenting the family’s life under these conditions and their slow path towards happiness, Blossoming emerges as a moving portrait of three generations of resilient women who find freedom in the face of trauma and long-buried truths.
The camera’s exposure to Serwicka’s family leaves no stone unturned, capturing so much of their lives and struggles in this 77-minute film. Each event, together with the moments in between, builds a narrative that maps this family’s journey with organic coherence. It doesn’t overexplain; it doesn’t need to. Truths come to light naturally in the conversations, maintaining the realism and intimacy you feel as you watch.
It is in intimacy that Blossoming finds its power. Camerawork is close, creating a tangible and familiar atmosphere that matches the required sensitivity of such a subject. Flitting between the grainy darkness of interiors and bright, clear shots of the village’s rural landscape, Serwicka’s film is well-crafted while holding a delightfully amateur quality that matches the personal, unpolished nature of a film about her family. Often you forget the camera is there. Aside from Kamila’s absence in her own conversations, talking and watching from behind the camera, the natural atmosphere of the home is conveyed so well. Conversations you wouldn’t imagine having captured are open and spoken freely, lending a rare candour to the film.
At times it’s hard to watch, due to the sheer discomfort and fragility of a family in conflict, but there is also comfort in the bond between these women, and the home rituals that feel so recognisable. The filmmaker manages to capture the shared familiarity of the setting, of universal feelings and memories of the pandemic and uncertainty surrounding the future. She taps into a collective experience felt across cultures and generations during Covid-19, while addressing the vulnerabilities that lockdown exposed.
Ending with brightness and beauty, 6 years after the story started, Serwicka leads the film to an optimistic conclusion. There is clarity in this scene: better camera, cleaner angles that reflect the clarity the family come to on their journey, and the outcome of a struggle that was worth the fight.
Blossoming (A teraz wiosna) is about finding strength and facing truth. With sensitivity and a deeply personal edge, it’s a film that captures quiet, domestic courage and gives this kind of bravery the spotlight it has always deserved. As a feature directorial debut, it speaks to a future of thoughtful and well-crafted work to come from Kamila Serwicka.
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