Rust debuted Wednesday at the Camerimage Film Festival in Poland, more than three years after the deadly shooting on the set.
Joel Souza, the film’s director, stated in an interview following the premiere that it’s bittersweet. It would have been better, in my opinion, if the film had been completed long ago and Halyna had been there to discuss it with pride.
On October 21, 2021, Alec Baldwin’s prop gun fired a real round of ammunition on the set, killing Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Souza was also struck in the shoulder by the bullet.
A judge in Baldwin’s trial determined that New Mexico prosecutors had withheld evidence, leading to the case being dismissed over the summer despite Baldwin being charged with one count of manslaughter.
It’s been a long time dealing with the film, everything that transpired, and the general… madness that overtook everything, Souza remarked. I believe that there is a sense of relief that this moment has finally arrived.
Souza advised viewers not to make too much of Baldwin’s conspicuous absence from the debut.
I don’t think anyone ever talked about [his attending]. “This is a film festival for cinematographers,” he explained.
Hutchins’ mother, father, and sister did not attend either; they remained in their home country of Ukraine. Through their lawyer, Gloria Allred, the family announced in a statement on the eve of the premiere that they would not be attending the event because Baldwin never offered an official apology. Additionally, they claimed that the makers are making money off of the tragedy.
A request for response from Baldwin’s representative was not immediately answered. Rust Movie Production responded to the family’s remarks in a statement.
“It is disappointing that Gloria Allred misrepresented the Camerimage festival and any profit motivation,” the statement read. Halyna’s family was fully in favor of the choice to finish Rust.
According to Bianca Cline, the movie’s new cinematographer, the production crew decided to complete the movie in part as a tribute to Hutchins’s efforts.
It’s terrible that most people only know Halyna for that, she added. Hopefully, this movie will introduce people to her as a cinematographer and her perspective on the world, rather than just what happened to her.
Matthew Hutchins, Hutchins’ husband, was an executive producer on the finished picture and got an unknown cash settlement from Baldwin and the film’s producers.
According to Souza, the producers intend to make an announcement shortly on the location for viewers to view the film.
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