Mother of cinematographer killed on set of Alec Baldwin film 'Rust'
boycotts its world premiere
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 [November 20, 2024]
By VANESSA GERA
TORUN, Poland (AP) — The mother of late cinematographer Halyna Hutchins
is boycotting the world premiere of “Rust” at a film festival in Poland
on Wednesday, saying she views it as an attempt by Alec Baldwin to
“unjustly profit” from her daughter’s death.
The Western is premiering at the International Film Festival of the Art
of Cinematography Camerimage in the city of Torun three years after
Hutchins was shot accidentally on set.
Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer for “Rust,” was pointing a gun
at Hutchins during a rehearsal on the set outside Santa Fe, New Mexico,
in October 2021 when the revolver went off, killing Hutchins and
wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin has said he pulled back the hammer
— but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.
Souza was expected to introduce the film at the festival, a popular
industry event dedicated to the art of cinematography, and the premiere
was being dedicated to Hutchins.
“It was always my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work
come alive on screen," said Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey in a statement
issued by her lawyer and carried by Britain’s national news agency, PA.
“Unfortunately, that was ripped away from me when Alec Baldwin
discharged his gun and killed my daughter," she said. “Alec Baldwin
continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologize to me and
his refusal to take responsibility for her death. Instead, he seeks to
unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter.”
“That is the reason why I refuse to attend the festival for the
promotion of Rust, especially now when there is still no justice for my
daughter," she added.
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A musician plays a violin behind a photograph of cinematographer
Halyna Hutchins during a vigil in her honor in Albuquerque, N.M.,Oct.
23, 2021. . (AP Photo/Andres Leighton, File)
 Hutchins, 42, was a Ukrainian
cinematographer on the rise and a mother of a young son when she was
killed. She grew up on a remote Soviet military base and worked on
documentary films in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los
Angeles and embarking on a promising movie-making career.
A New Mexico judge dismissed an involuntary manslaughter charge
against Baldwin in the fatal shooting. But while the threat of
criminal liability was lifted, he is facing other civil lawsuits,
including one by Solovey.
The film armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, received the maximum
sentence of 18 months in jail for involuntary manslaughter. A New
Mexico judge found earlier this year that her recklessness amounted
to a serious violent offense. Prosecutors blamed Gutierrez-Reed for
unwittingly bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust,” where
it was expressly prohibited, and for failing to follow basic
gun-safety protocols.
This year's Cameraimage festival, where Cate Blanchett is serving as
jury president, has already been beset by controversy.
“Blitz” director Steve McQueen dropped out of the festival to
protest an editorial about female cinematographers written by
festival founder Marek Żydowicz that McQueen viewed as sexist.
Director Coralie Fargeat also pulled her film “The Substance” from
the festival due to the comments. Żydowicz has since apologized.
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