‘The Mohican,’ About Corsican Goatherd’s Battle With Mafia, Sells to Several Territories Following Venice Premiere (EXCLUSIVE)

Brussels-based sales agency Be For Films has closed distribution deals on Frédéric Farrucci‘s “The Mohican,” which world premiered in the Horizons Extra section of the Venice Film Festival.

Territories deals closed include Frenetic Films for Switzerland, Splendid Film for Germany and Austria, Edge Entertainment for Scandinavia, One From the Heart for Greece, and Imovision for Brazil.

The company is in discussion for deals for Benelux, Australia, U.S. and Japan.

The French distributor is Ad Vitam.

The French- and Corsican-language drama centers on Joseph, one of the last goatherds on the Corsican coastline, who receives a visit from the Mafia. They want to take his land. Despite the pressure, he says no, he won’t move.

After unwittingly killing the man sent to intimidate him, he becomes the victim of a merciless manhunt that takes place from the southern to the northern reaches of Corsica, in the middle of summer. As the days go by, the legend of Joseph spreads across the entire island thanks to his niece Vannina, embodying a resistance previously deemed impossible.

Farrucci said the film was inspired by a 2017 documentary he directed about a shepherd who worked on the south coast of Corsica. “He saw himself as an anomaly in his region, much like the last of the Mohicans,” he said.

Alexis Manenti heads the cast, which includes Mara Taquin, Pietri Théo Frimigacci, Paul Garatte and Marie-Pierre Nouveau.

The producers are Céline Chapdaniel and Diane Jassem. The production company is Koro Films.

Pamela Leu at Be For Films said: “We were fascinated by the feedback gathered from the industry and buyers right after the premiere in Venice, a very well-crafted and tense feature, lifted by Alexis Manenti perfect acting.”

Leu will be attending next week’s MIA film market in Rome.