Filippo (an endearing Stefano Accorsi, A Five Star Life, LIFF13) has been dealing with anti-Mafia activities in the south of Italy for years, but has done so from his office chair far removed in the north. When a cooperative from Puglia is given a small farm that was confiscated from ruthless Mafia boss Nicola Sansone (Tommaso Ragno), they can’t manage to get going on account of ongoing mafia boycotts, and Filippo is reluctantly forced to get actively involved on the ground. Fearful, anxious and hopelessly bureaucratic, he won’t have an easy time. But he is inspired thanks to the courage and passion of the mismatched members of this cooperative, lead by Sansone’s former farmer Cosimo (Sergio Rubini) and by the beautiful and determined Rossana (Maria Rosaria Russo), both with a dark past to redeem. However, along with their first organic tomatoes, an unwelcome visitor will reappear in Sansone, the Mafioso and his presence threatens to destroy everything.
Based on the real-life work of the Libera association, Mafia & Red Tomatoes tackles this issue with a smile and the redemptive joy of recent box-office hit The Mafia Kills Only in Summer.