By VANESSA GERA Associated Press
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.
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.
Żydowicz said organizers were aware that “Rust” could “stir emotions.”
“However, we wanted to pay tribute to Halyna, who respected our festival and who wanted to show her film here,” he said in a statement. “There is no commercial undertone, either from our festival or the filmmakers.”