Cinematographer Halina Hutchins was shot and killed in October 2021

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Involuntary manslaughter charges against Alec Baldwin dismissed

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The director says it honors Hutchins to bring the film to audiences

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Polish premiere in a world away from the glamor of Hollywood

By Malgorzata Wojtunik

TORUN, Poland, — Alec Baldwin’s western “Rust” premiered Wednesday at a modest Polish film festival, three years after cinematographer Halina Hutchins died after Baldwin pointed a gun at him, the first Hollywood set in nearly 30 years. But there was a fatal shootout. ,

Director Joel Souza, who was injured in the shooting, told Reuters that while it was a relief to complete the film and bring it to an audience, he hoped it would be a tribute to the 42-year-old Ukrainian.

The film opened to a few hundred spectators at the Camerimage Festival in the medieval central Polish city of Toruń, a special event focusing on cinematography. The setting was a world away from the glamor and pomp typical of Hollywood releases.

“I’m excited that people will get to see Halina’s work, you know, I hope they appreciate her work… This was not an easy decision by any means, but it became important to me and her It also became important for the husband that people see his last work.”

A live round was inadvertently fired by Hannah Gutierrez, the film’s lead weapons operator, from a gun carried by Baldwin on the film set near Santa Fe, New Mexico in October 2021. Gutierrez was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in March and is serving an 18-month prison sentence. , which is subject to appeal.

Baldwin also faced trial, but in July a New Mexico judge dismissed involuntary manslaughter charges against him, agreeing with his lawyers that prosecutors and police concealed evidence on the source of the live rounds that killed Hutchins. Death occurred.

Souza said she hoped the film’s release would mean people would learn more about Hutchins than just what happened to her and that they would get a chance to “see the world through her eyes”.

He said, “That’s one of the nice things about movies. You can see the world as the people who made it see it.” “The cinematography is amazing and I hope people will appreciate it.”

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In a 2021 television interview, Baldwin said he was told the gun was empty and that Hutchins had instructed him to point it at the camera and cock it. He said the revolver fired when he released the hammer and he did not pull the trigger.

Souza said he realized it would be almost impossible for people to watch the film without thinking about Hutchins’ death.

“I think that’s how people know about the film,” he said. “But, you know, in the same way… I would hope that no matter what reason people come to it – whether it’s out of curiosity, whether they like Westerns, for whatever reason – I hope they At least they can take something from it or they can appreciate his work in it.”

He said that the church scene Hutchins was working on when it was shot was removed from the film.

“It’s just gone. It doesn’t exist anymore. We were never going to finish it… I changed the script and so I wiped it out of it.”

‘North Star’

It was extremely difficult for the crew to return to complete the film after Hutchins’ death, Souza said, but they were all united in honoring and remembering Hutchins.

He said, “I was a wasted person and I’m not normally a wasted person on set. But emotionally, I was all over the place and the crew really pulled me out of it.”

“I just kept thinking, how am I getting through these days? And I realized how I got through those days was because the crew put me through those days… they were able to help me keep me focused on the job. Were capable. And always remember Halina, remember Halina, she is the North Star.”

The Camerimage Festival was a fitting venue to honor him, Souza said, and the film began with a minute of silence.

“This festival means a lot to him, as it does to all cinematographers. I think preserving his work, trying to preserve every last frame of it that we could, and making it available to people To show and make them understand how talented she was, I think it’s a fitting tribute to her.”

Asked whether he felt justice was served regarding the court cases, Souza said, “I can’t let that kind of thing or that kind of thinking take hold in me. I just have to move forward. “This is the only way forward.”

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without any modifications to the text.