Kieslowski's graphic depiction of the effects of violence so shook up the Polish authorities that they declared a five year moratorium on capital punishment.
The quote mentioned by Piotr during his final examination, "...since Cain the world has neither been intimidated nor ameliorated by punishment ...", is from Karl Marx (explaining why the examiners know the source), published on January 28, 1853.
The green filters used to achieve the unique look of the film were specially made by the cinematographer, Slawomir Idziak. Each type of shot in the film required its own filter, sometimes requiring up to three different filters in the camera for a single shot. According to Kieslowski, Idziak wound up making about 600 filters during filming.
In the Sight and Sound directors poll of 2012 acclaimed Dutch filmmaker Cyrus Frisch voted for A Short Film About Killing, commenting that in Poland, this film was instrumental in the abolition of the death penalty.
Mokotów and Wola are districts in the western part of Warsaw. Mokotów is bordered on the eastern side by the Vistula River, as seen in the film.