Quando i fiori avranno tempo per me

The powerful story of a mother who, during World War II, does everything in her power to protect her daughters, turning survival into a daily art form. Amidst poverty, discrimination and violence, Sara Gambazza portrays the strength of women capable of imagining a different future and claiming their freedom despite adversity.

Parma, 1922. Anita is a prostitute, orphaned of her mother and with a father she has only ever known through stories. Her daughters, Ninfa and Rosa, are forced to grow up far too quickly among their mother’s clients, with gunfire echoing over their poor neighbourhood. When Italy enters the war, the three move into a brothel, where Anita continues her work, haunted by the fear that her daughters might one day follow in her footsteps, and deeply worried about Ninfa’s dark gift: the unsettling ability to smell death. And yet, within this unexpected refuge, Ninfa and Rosa discover a different kind of family: a community bound not by blood, but by loyalty and love – a network of humble people willing to protect one another even in the darkest hours.

The end of the war brings both loss and the fragile promise of a new beginning. Ninfa seeks knowledge and freedom; Rosa longs for peace and stability, once for all. Both will find the courage to love and to be loved, to accept who they are and to honour the memory of their past, never forgetting the price paid by their mother – and by themselves – to become the women they are.