Enriquez moved out of his hometown during his adolescence to chase a creative dream that, at the time, was unavailable in St. Pete. While he adored the weather and sandy sports accompanying the beachside atmosphere, he aspired to pursue a more artistic path which, at the time, was more accessible in New York City or Los Angeles.
That pursuit brought him to his current home in California, but he returns to St. Pete’s shores every year. The annual trip nods to the importance of the Sunscreen Film Festival, a four-day celebration of local filmmaking, founded by Tony Armer.
“[He] brought more to my hometown, and [he’s] from Ohio, than I could ever imagine. It’s been so fun to see what he’s done and how many projects he’s brought there.”
One of the projects Armer brought to last year’s festival includes Enriquez’s feature, Stone Creek Killer, a chilling, small-town murder mystery centers on a police-chief and a clairvoyant, who track down a serial killer.
“Stone Creek Killer is a slow burn that builds tension and keeps audiences guessing until the very end. I’ve always been drawn to the unknown and unsettling,” Enriquez explains. “This story let us explore that world of psychics and serial killers in a raw, stripped-down way. Filming in just ten days forced us to distill everything to its essence—and that pressure brought out the best in all of us.”
The filmmaker first received the script in 2004. Over the past twenty years of rewrites and workshops, the setting went from a Maine-based tale to New Orleans, Arizona and LA before landing on the final destination—the tiny town of Chisholm, Minnesota. Throughout the project’s development, Enriquez found himself enraptured by the psychic/serial killer storyline.
While focused on Stone Creek Killer’s distribution, Enriquez also brought up future plans to adapt his short film 3 Days in May into a Florida-based feature.
He offers the following advice to anyone wanting to step foot into the film industry, insisting that you don’t need to have a huge Hollywood budget or team to create art.
“Make your own projects,” Enriquez asserts. “You’ve got so many people there that are trying to do the same thing. You get a pack that you trust, it’s such a great possibility.”
Stone Creek Killer is available to watch on Amazon Prime, Apple TV and Fandango. For more information, visit https://www.imdb.com/title/tt33113422/ or follow Enriquez on Facebook @robert.enriquez.144 and on Instagram @enriquez.robert
