KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 3 — Alec Baldwin‘s Western film Rust, is set for its world premiere — almost three years after the tragic, accidental death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on set.
The film will take to the screens for the first time at the EnergaCamerimage international cinematography film festival in Toruń, Poland.
The screening will be followed by a panel with director Joel Souza, who was also injured in the October 2021 gun accident that took place while filming in New Mexico.
The panel also includes cinematographer Bianca Cline, who completed the movie, and Stephen Lighthill, Hutchins’ AFI film school mentor. They will discuss the events surrounding the film, including completion of the movie, in addition to the on-set safety and the role of women in cinematography.
Rust tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following their parents’ deaths in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after he’s sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
“We knew that our event was important to her, and that she felt at home among cinematographers from all over the world, who have been gathering at Camerimage for over 30 years,” said festival director Marek Zydowicz, as reported by Variety.
He added that during the 2021 edition of Camerimage, just weeks after the accident, “we honored Halyna’s memory with a moment of silence and a panel of cinematographers discussed safety on set. Now, once again, together with cinematographers and film enthusiasts, we will have this special opportunity to remember her.”
Hutchins’ credits includes 2020’s Archenemy, 2020’s Blindfire and 2019’s Darlin‘.
She was posthumously awarded honorary membership in the America Society of Cinematographer while AFI established the Halyna Hutchins Memorial Scholarship Fund.
In the aftermath of Hutchins’ death, star and producer Baldwin, who was handling the prop gun at the time of the accident, was charged with manslaughter but the case was dismissed on the grounds that the prosecution had failed to turn over evidence.
Following this decision, the defence for Rust armorer Hannah Gutierrez Reed, who is serving an 18-month sentence for Hutchins’ death, asked for a new trial, but on Monday a judge denied the request, finding that withheld evidence would not have changed the outcome of the trial.
