The Killings

Martinez is a retired FBi Agent now in her late 50’s looking to close an unsolved murder case that has tormented her for years. She Tried to enjoy her retirement until a letter arrived from Ethan, asking her to come see him. The man she obsessively researched for years, wasting away her life, her own happiness. She decides to go see him once and for all to get the answers she’s been booking for and close the case.

  • Juan Esteban Madrigal
    Director
  • Juan Esteban Madrigal
    Writer
  • Santiago Mier
    Producer
  • Aamir Yusuf
    Producer
    Oppenheimer, Babylon
  • Aamir Yusuf
    Key Cast
    "Andrew"
    Oppenheimer
  • Eric Marq
    Key Cast
    "Ethan"
    Flaming Hot, The scout
  • Esther Pidal
    Key Cast
    "Martinez"
    Snowfall, Bloody Hands
  • Anja Racic
    Key Cast
    "sarah"
  • Project Type:
    Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Thriller, supense
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    November 13, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    8,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital,35 MM, Red,
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - New York Film Academy
Director Biography - Juan Esteban Madrigal

Juan Madrigal was a young dreamer when he immigrated to the United States from Colombia with his family of hard workers. His parents would work at different homes and for work, Juan and his older brother, Alejandro, would clean the carpets. As he scrubbed and scrubbed, he peeked over at a very dusty old TV that was playing Hitchcock’s Psycho. He would watch it and learn the words and it would also be the way he learned to speak English. He started watching more classics and reciting lines as if he was a part of it. For Christmas, his parents scrounged all the savings they had and bought him a small little canon camera which would stay with him through the years and so on even when he started to attend the California Institute of Arts, where he focused on Acting. He also completed two years at the New York Film Academy where he would make his very first short film “Violent Sons”. Recently, he raised $8,000 through crowdfunding where he wrote and directed his thesis film titled “The Killings”. Starring Eric Marq from Eva Longoria’s directorial debut, “FLAMIN HOT.”

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Director Statement

we inadvertently create monsters everyday. These serial killers have become icons and public figure for the horrendous acts they've committed. When researching this topic that became an unfortunate guilty pleasure. I came across hundreds of interviews tapes from John Wayne Gacy, to Mark Riebie. It became clear to me that the effect that those acts had on the victims families were indescribably painful. They left permanent scars that never went away.
That's where this movie comes in. At it's core, The Killings is about a women trying to close a murder case she has been working on for 5 years that has taken a toll on her life. She wants to move on, but can quite do it yet as she must face the man that has tormented her throughout these years in order to finally let that part of her life go. This case, mirror hundreds of other cold cases . Yet, what i have strived to achieve is not to glory anyone, but to hold a mirror to society as whole to ask as to why why we keep falling in the same vicious cycle.