One Euro Bull
A folk horror comedy set in rural Sicily, where a group of digital nomads, attempting to buy a €1 house, are confronted by an ancient tradition and a terrifying, radicalized Minotaur.
Full Synopsis
A failing crypto investor, BROCK (40), and his influencer girlfriend, VICTOIRE (30), travel to the remote Sicilian town of Troina to purchase a €1 house. They are joined by their bio hacking business partner, LEE (47, looks 17), and Victoire's intern, ARIA (25). Their venture, "BrockLee Capital," aims to build a bio-hacking longevity retreat.
After signing complex contracts with the town's elder, RENZO, and his translator, ROSSI, they discover their "Shared One Euro House" is half-luxury, half-ruin. As Brock’s digital finances collapse via a failed CAPTCHA test, the group is trapped. That night, Lee is murdered by a Minotaur, enraged by his loud Bluetooth affirmations.
The next day, the survivors are accused of the murder, marched through a ritualistic Town Hall, and forced to attend an emergency "Veal Sandwich Festival," where they witness the town consuming a "sauce" Brock spills on his clothes. Discovering their SUV and luggage stolen (a freshly painted handicap sign confirming the trap), Brock is forced to wear a Tony Soprano-style bathrobe.
That night, Victoire forces Aria to film the Minotaur for her livestream. Aria’s "cliché American influencer voice" enrages the beast, which kills her live on camera.
After a slow-motion chase in an Ape Piaggio results in their guide's death, Brock and Victoire find themselves in a commercial "Escape Room." By solving the puzzles, they discover the town’s secret: the "sauce" is the Minotaur's anti-aging saliva, and the Minotaur must be ritually slain to be renewed.
At a formal brunch (where they are served beef cheek), Renzo offers them a deal: Brock as "Crypto-Consigliere" and Victoire as "Successor Queen" (guaranteed prolonged life/beauty). Victoire accepts, seeing it as a stable career path. Brock, horrified, confronts the Minotaur, finding a pathetic creature in a bachelor pad, radicalized by Instagram feeds. Brock attempts to free it, but the creature dies accidentally.
Victoire delivers the final betrayal, framing her choice to mate with the replacement (the Daedalus Cow) as an act of "self-empowerment." Realizing his relationship was a sham, Brock swaps his bathrobe for stylish local clothes, steals an Ape Piaggio, and drives away, cynical but finally free.
Vision & Context
Director's Statement
*One Euro Bull* is a story that operates on the razor's edge of horror and black comedy. It explores the absurdity of our hyper-modern obsessions—the desperate need for external validation, the commodification of "authenticity" through social media, and the cynical belief that technology and capital can defeat even death itself.
My vision is one of stark, beautiful contrasts: the breathtaking landscape of Sicily framed with the cold anxiety of a failing iPhone signal. The horror will not come from jump-scares, but from surreal, darkly comic images: a Minotaur radicalized by an Instagram feed; an ancient polyphonic choir condemning a man in a Tony Soprano bathrobe; a murder triggered by a "cliché American influencer voice."
Alena Shevchenko
The Location: Troina, Sicily
Poised high in the Nebrodi mountains, Troina is a labyrinth of stone, a town suspended in time. As the first Norman capital of Sicily, its history is etched into every ancient church and narrow, winding alley.
Troina is more than a backdrop; it is a character. It is the perfect container for a story about an ancient, cyclical system confronting the chaos of the modern world. Its visual identity—the blend of breathtaking mountain vistas and claustrophobic, ancient stone—will provide the essential cinematic language for *One Euro Bull*.
Definitive 22-Beat Structure
(The full narrative blueprint, organized by act. Click to view the detail.)
ACT I: The Setup & Inciting Incident (Beats 1–6)
| Beat | Action / Plot Point | Locked Detail / Strategic Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cynical Myth Introduction. | The film opens with Brock's voice-over telling the Minotaur's crude origin myth via an audible podcast. |
| 2 | The Nomads Arrive & Brock Lee Capital. | Brock drives the SUV into Troina with Victoire, Lee, and Aria. Brock introduces his venture: Brock Lee Capital. First digital trouble: Brock struggles with phone signal. |
| 3 | The Deal. | The four Nomads have lunch with Renzo and Rossi (the female Translator). The Nomads sign numerous, complex contracts without reading them. |
| 4 | The Shared One Euro House. | They arrive at the Shared One Euro House: luxurious front half vs. disgusting, ruined back half. Digital trouble: While looking for an outlet, they pull back cloth revealing a fresco of a Minotaur attacking foreigners. |
| 5 | The Financial Ruin Confirmed. | Brock gets a charge, realizes his NFT market is collapsing, and fails the CAPTCHA request repeatedly, sealing his digital fate. The town seals road access. |
| 6 | Lee's Ironic Death (Inciting Incident). | Lee, seeking "grounding," goes into the garden. He sets up a Bluetooth speaker playing obnoxious, loud affirmations. The Minotaur attacks Lee. |
ACT II: Rising Action & Midpoint (Beats 7–18)
| Beat | Action / Plot Point | Locked Detail / Strategic Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | The Public Accusation. | The survivors find Lee's body. Police accuse the Nomads of murder. The body is instantly carted away by an Ape Piaggio. |
| 8 | The Town Hall Meeting (Condemnation). | The survivors are marched to a ritualistic Town Hall meeting. Renzo justifies the condemnation as necessary due to the chaos the Nomads introduced. Villagers sing a haunting Sicilian polyphonic choral song. |
| 9 | The Sandwich Festival (The Sauce). | Renzo organizes an emergency festival. The entire town feasts on veal sandwiches lavishly soaked in a substance the locals call "the sauce." Brock spills the sauce all over his clothes. |
| 10 | The Bathroom Interrogation. | Victoire and Aria discuss panic in French. Rossi enters the bathroom without knocking, establishing the Order's total surveillance. |
| 11 | The Realization of Entrapment. | They return to the street to find their suitcase gone and the road partially bricked up. Victoire notes Brock left the SUV in a newly painted, wet handicap sign. |
| 12 | The Soprano Dinner & Aria's Death. | Brock, wearing the Tony Soprano-style bathrobe, prepares cold cuts. Victoire sets up her stream. She insults Aria by making her adopt the cliché American influencer voice, which triggers the Minotaur to kill her live on camera. |
| 13 | The Streaming Payoff. | Victoire sees the tips and superchats pouring in. The stream is abruptly cut due to mass reports of violence. |
| 14 | Silvio’s Sacrifice. | The Minotaur breaches the house. Silvio rescues Brock and Victoire in his Ape Piaggio. Brock’s panicked shouting in English enrages the Minotaur, who kills Silvio. |
| 15 | The Escape Room Labyrinth. | The couple is trapped. Brock solves the puzzle by using his obsolete crypto-logic to decode an analogue mechanism. |
| 16 | Mythological Mechanics Revealed. | The puzzle reveals Daedalus's ancient blueprints and ledgers, confirming the Minotaur is the source of the life-giving fluid, though the monetary value is still unknown. |
| 17 | The Moral Compromise. | Brock is training with a Butcher. When Brock asks, "Why don't you just kill him?" the Butcher replies, "I only kill animals." Brock begins to doubt the Order's true intentions. |
| 18 | The Seduction (Midpoint). | Renzo meets Brock and Victoire. He invites them to the opulent Palazzo. |
ACT III: Climax, Resolution & Escape (Beats 19–22)
| Beat | Action / Plot Point | Locked Detail / Strategic Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | The Brunch and The Proposal. | The couple wakes up in a luxurious suite. Attending brunch, they eat beef cheek (implied predecessor). Renzo and Rossi reveal the Minotaur is failing and must be ritually executed. Brock is offered the "Crypto-Consigliere" role and Victoire is offered "Successor Queen" (guaranteed prolonged life/beauty). |
| 20 | Victoire's Acceptance & The Thread. | Victoire chooses the system. She collects wool from farmers in a carriage and spins the Thread, engaging authentically in the tradition as an investment in her stable future. |
| 21 | The Lair of Pathetic Horror. | Brock follows the thread and finds the Minotaur in its sanctuary, being radicalized by Instagram feeds. |
| 22 | The Climax & Emotional Parting. | Brock attempts to free the Minotaur, but the creature dies accidentally on the Sword of Renewal. Victoire delivers the final betrayal: "I needed you to see me... It's time to start doing something for myself for once." Brock recovers, swaps his bathrobe for stylish local clothes (Assimilation), steals an Ape Piaggio (charged phone/signal working), and drives away, cynical but finally free. |
The Creative Team
Mark Norman Harris
Story by / Screenplay by / Creative Producer
Mark Norman Harris is a Canadian artist, writer, and comedian based in Paris. His work, spanning performance art and music, explores themes of ritual, community, and social satire. He is developing *One Euro Bull* as the flagship project for his real-world creative lab in Troina, Sicily, where he owns a house he purchased for one euro, which inspired the story.
Alena Shevchenko
Director / Story by
Alena Shevchenko is a Berlin-based director known for her award-winning shorts and high-end commercial work. Her focus on character-driven comedy, the female perspective, and sharp satire makes her the ideal creative partner to bring the visually distinct world of *One Euro Bull* to life.
The Full Treatment is Available Upon Request
The complete, Brock-voiced Pitch Treatment and detailed financial strategy are available for review by qualified co-production partners and financiers.
Click here to read the full treatment and selected scenes