Film festival’s Rust screening criticized for dedication to Halyna Hutchins

Camerimage says premiere is in honor of cinematographer, but critics say it is ‘promoting the film that killed her’

A film festival has been criticized for dedicating the debut screening of Rust to the cinematographer killed on the set of the film.
The Western is being shown at the Camerimage Film Festival in November, three years after Halyna Hutchins was killed when a gun held by actor Alec Baldwin fired a live round on set.
Baldwin was charged with manslaughter but the case against him collapsed earlier this year after the judge found that state prosecutors withheld evidence.
The film festival, which takes place in Poland, said in a statement that it was screening Rust to “honor” Hutchins’ memory and “remind the world of her legacy”.
Hutchins was a regular attendee at Camerimage but the move has prompted controversy among her peers, Deadline has reported.
“I’m all for memorializing Halyna and her beautiful work but not by screening and thereby promoting the film that killed her,” said Rachel Morrison, the photography director on Black Panther.
Suzie Lavelle, photography director on the BBC series His Dark Materials, wrote on social media: “Promoting a film that shot with unsafe practices – leading to the death of its cinematographer – reconsider please.” The Hutchins family has not issued a comment on the screening.
A panel discussion will be held following the Rust screening with Joel Souza, who directed the film, and Bianca Cline, who took over as cinematographer from Hutchins.
“The filmmakers will discuss events surrounding the film, offering insight into continuing production after Halyna’s death,” Camerimage said.
“Maintaining Hutchins’ artistic vision, as tremendously challenging as it was for the entire crew, was really important to the filmmakers, hoping to fulfill their duty to complete her work.
“During the panel, they will discuss the unique visual style that Halyna developed on set and explain how Bianca Cline, who took over her work, managed to remarkably replicate Halyna’s style.”
The panel will also discuss safety on film sets, a topic that was at the center of the Baldwin manslaughter case.
Prosecutors argued in July that Baldwin played “make-believe” with the biggest gun he could get and violated “the cardinal rules of firearm safety”.
In response, the actor claimed he had been told he was handed a “cold gun” – meaning it did not contain a live round – and did not pull the trigger.
The trial collapsed after three days when the judge, Mary Marlowe Sommer, found that New Mexico prosecutors had not disclosed evidence after proceedings had already begun.
Camerimage has been approached for comment.