The Setting
Our story takes place in a tiny Sicilian mountain town. Population 8,000, average age: 45.
It's not the touristy, postcard Italy; it's the kind of place where the church bells ring louder than Tinder notifications, jobs are scarce, and new babies are rarer than Wi-Fi signals.
Tone of Voice
White Lotus meets Midsommar
This is a satiric dark comedy inspired by Greek mythology with vivid, unapologetically unlikeable characters. The humour is sharp, biting, and darkly playful—the kind of laughter that stings a little because it feels too close to real life.
Visually, however, the film is designed to be aesthetically pleasing: warm Italian light, elegant architecture, and picturesque landscapes. The clash is intentional — grotesque behaviour set against a seductive, polished world.
Visual Mood
The Story
BROCK (40), an American crypto-bro, and VICTOIRE (30), a French wellness coach seeking a location for her "Ageless Living" retreat, arrive in Torromino. A last chance to save their dying relationship. The town is a trap: The wifi is down and their "Palazzo" is a pigeon-infested ruin. They meet their new neighbour LEE (46 but looks 23), a rival bio-hacker already established in town. Lee mocks Brock, insisting that the local source of long life has dried up.
The next morning, Lee is missing. Brock and Victoire are questioned by police then brought to the sandwich festival. They taste the secret sauce and feel euphoric. That night, desperate for funding, the couple pitches Silicon Valley investors via a shaky Zoom call in their garden ruin. Mid-pitch, they discover Lee’s dead body. They force a smile through the horror to keep the deal alive.
They plan an escape but are intercepted by the mayor. He tells them how the town extracts life-extending saliva from a minotaur, but the beast is old and the product is losing potency. RENZO offers Brock a deal: kill the minotaur for gold. Secretly, Victoire is offered the role of surrogate mother to a future minotaur, in exchange for unlimited access to the saliva of life.
They both accept. Brock navigates a dangerous labyrinth to confront and kill the Minotaur. He discovers the monster is old, confused, and scared. A clumsy battle ensues; the Minotaur is killed by accident. A celebration is held and Brock is given his gold. Determined to leave, he asks Victoire to follow, but she refuses. As he drives away alone, he passes a procession walking into town with a giant white bull, implying that the cycle is about to restart.
Cast of Characters
The Minotaur
A tragic, senile figure. Far from a movie monster, he is a "distressed asset." He spends his days doom-scrolling on an iPad in the dungeon, lonely and addicted to the blue light. He is the ultimate victim of the town's extraction economy.
Renzo
The Mayor. Serious, bureaucratic, and pragmatic. He manages the "livestock" of the town—both the Minotaur and the tourists. He frames ancient blood rituals as "municipal logistics."
Brock (40)
A morally bankrupt American crypto-bro. He has gambled his wealth on memecoins and NFTs. He views the world purely in transactional terms. When the market crashes, he is willing to sell anything—even his girlfriend—to remain solvent.
Victoire (30)
A Parisian wellness coach pivoting to "Ageless Living." She is chic, severe, and terrified of aging out of the algorithm. She starts as a victim of Brock's schemes but ends up the ruthless winner, choosing immortality over freedom.
Lee (46)
A bio-hacker rival who looks 23 due to his extreme regimen. He represents the "Smart Money" Brock is chasing. He is annoying, perfect, and obsessed with optimization. His death is the catalyst that reveals the town's true nature.
The Minotaur
In our story, the Minotaur is not the monster but the victim. He is the only figure we truly feel sympathy for. Feared and shunned, he lived a lifetime of loneliness.
We continue his story in old age. He is frail, suffering from dementia, still abandoned by the world. To the digital nomads, he is a threat - but his violence is less monstrous than it is confused.
"We're not treating the Minotaur as a monster we're treating him as an artwork. He's sculptural, curated, almost museum-worthy."
The Creative Team
Alena Shevchenko
Director / Story By
Alena Shevchenko is a Berlin-based director (Cannes YDA Shortlist). Her background in high-end commercial directing (Bumble, Nike) perfectly suits the film's "glossy satire" aesthetic. She is bringing her distinct visual style to the narrative world of *One Euro Bull*.
Mark Norman Harris
Writer / Creative Producer
Mark Norman Harris is a Canadian writer and producer based in Europe. He actually owns a "One Euro House" in Troina, Sicily, giving him unique access to the location, the politics, and the absurdity of the real-life process.