The Ballad of Incitement

A young man struggles with paranoia and hallucinations after witnessing a murder on the job.

  • Nikkolas Delgado
    Director
  • Anjalina Patel
    Writer
  • J.D. Tait
    Writer
  • Rosie Ybarra
    Producer
  • Roland Dale
    Producer
  • Mariia Kukshyna
    Producer
  • Timothy Merkle
    Key Cast
    "Casey Rodriguez"
  • Sandra Franco
    Key Cast
    "Julia Rodriguez"
  • Sam Waddell
    Key Cast
    "Detective Ron Seinkowitz"
  • Benjamin Sanchez
    Key Cast
    "Henry Towns"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Drama, Thriller, Crime, Action
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 59 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    4,200 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    RED Komodo
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes - College of DuPage/DePaul University
Director Biography - Nikkolas Delgado

Nikkolas Delgado is a 21-year-old Writer/Director from Elmhurst, IL, currently studying at DePaul University for a BFA in Film/Television. His first passion in life was filmmaking, spending his childhood making home films with friends and family whenever he could. Since graduating high school, Nikkolas has been balancing his time between set work, attending college courses, and collaborating with peers on student films. He directed "The Ballad of Incitement" with the support of a dedicated crew comprised of fellow College of DuPage students after a successful crowdfunding campaign and completed post-production while at DePaul. He hopes to get working on a new short film in Spring 2025.

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Director Statement

With "The Ballad of Incitement" I wanted to tell a story about a kid coping with witnessing a traumatic event and the paranoia and uncertainty of what could happen to his future if he makes the wrong decision. This short film was based on true events and after meeting the person who inspired our protagonist, I was fascinated by his life story and the experiences that happened to him following his traumatic event and I conceptualized the story for the film from there. I pushed myself to direct more challenging scene work, directing my actors in intense and emotional scenes, and delivering a big action scene to bring this story to life. At the core of this story are the relationships Casey has with his mother and his friend Henry, and my intent was to build this big world around a small-town incident while still keeping the personality and authenticity of these relationships when tested under trauma.