Mother of cinematographer killed on set of Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ boycotts world premiere

TORUN, Poland (AP) – The mother of late photographer Halyna Hutchins is boycotting the world premiere of “Rust” at a Polish film festival on Wednesday, saying she sees it as Alec Baldwin’s attempt to “unfairly gain” from her daughter. death.

The Western premieres at the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage in the city of Torun three years after Hutchins was accidentally shot on set.

Baldwin, the lead actor and co-producer of “Rust,” was pointing a gun at Hutchins during a training session outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021 when the gun went off, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza . Baldwin said he pulled back the hammer — but not the trigger — and the revolver fired.

Souza was expected to present the film at the festival, a prestigious industry event devoted to the art of cinematography, and the premiere was dedicated to Hutchins.

“It has always been my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her career come to life on the screen,” said Hutchins’ mother Olga Solovey in a statement issued by her lawyer and carried by the British news agency, PA.

“Unfortunately, that was taken away from me when Alec Baldwin pulled out his gun and killed my daughter,” she said. , he wants to profit unjustly by killing my daughter.”

“That’s why I refused to go to the festival to promote Rust, especially now when there is no justice for my daughter,” he added.

Hutchins, 42, was a fledgling Ukrainian photographer and mother of a young son when she was killed. He grew up in a remote Soviet military base and worked on documentary films in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and embarking on a promising filmmaking career.

A New Mexico judge dismissed a manslaughter charge against Baldwin in the shooting. But while the threat of criminal charges has been lifted, he faces other civil charges, including Solovey’s.

The film’s gunsmith, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, received a maximum sentence of 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. A New Mexico judge earlier this year found that his negligence amounted to a violent crime. Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of bringing live ammunition onto the set of “Rust,” where it was prohibited, and failing to follow basic gun safety rules.

This year’s CameraImage festival is already full of controversy.

“Blitz” director Steve McQueen walked out of the festival to protest an article about female photographers written by festival founder Marek Żydowicz that McQueen considered sexist. Żydowicz has apologized.