Alec Baldwin’s controversial Western Rust is set to debut at Poland’s Camerimage Festival.
Organisers of the Polish cinematography festival will honour late Ukrainian cinematographer Halyna Hutchins by premiering her final piece of work.
“Almost three years after the tragic death of Halyna Hutchins, a Ukrainian cinematographer who was part of the festival family, Camerimage is set to honour her memory and remind the world of her legacy,” they said in a press release.
Hutchins was fatally shot on the film set in New Mexico in October 2021 after a prop firearm held by Baldwin accidentally fired.
Director Joel Souza, who was injured during the tragedy, will take part in a panel discussion after the premiere alongside cinematographer Bianca Cline, who completed Hutchins’s work on the film, and Hutchins’s former mentor Stephen Lighthill.
Cline told People that Camerimage was the perfect place to premiere her late friend’s final project.
“We wanted to do this to honour her and to make sure that people could see what she was working on,” Cline explained. “I think that it’s her best film. I think that it’s her most beautiful film, and I’ve seen all of them.”
She added, “What’s cool about the festival is that it’s the most widely known film festival that’s solely focused on cinematography. And I think that one of the things about the film is that nobody knows anything about Halyna. Everyone just knows about her death, and that’s sad because she’s such a beautiful person and a talented cinematographer.”
Rust tells the story of a 13-year-old boy who, left to fend for himself and his younger brother following their parents’ deaths in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather after he’s sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.
The festival takes place in Torun, Poland between 16 and 23 November.
Baldwin and the film’s armourer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed were both charged with involuntary manslaughter over the incident. His charge was ultimately dismissed while she is currently serving an 18-month prison sentence.
