A documentary about “Rust” cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who died in October 2021 after a prop gun held by Alec Baldwin went off during the film’s production, is in the works from Story Syndicate.
The feature-length doc, which will explore Hutchins’ life and work, has been fully authorized by her husband, Matt Hutchins. Rachel Mason, who was Emmy nominated for her work on the documentary “Circus of Books” in 2020, is set to direct. Julee Metz will serve as a producer for Story Syndicate.
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According to a press release, the film will have exclusive access to Hutchins’ professional and personal archives and “will paint a powerful portrait of Hutchins’ journey from her youth living on a remote Soviet naval base and then in Kyiv, Ukraine, to becoming one of independent film’s most in-demand cinematographers. The documentary will be a celebration of and tribute to Hutchins’ craft while exploring the circumstances on the set of ‘Rust,’ the Alec Baldwin-starring Western in which Hutchins was fatally injured, and the emotional journey of those involved in completion of the film.”
“Halyna was on the cusp of making a lasting mark on cinema. As a filmmaker, I wanted to make movies with her. Never could I have imagined that I would be making a film about her,” Mason said in a statement. “The world lost a great artist, but I lost a friend. The fact that her brilliance as an artist was instantly overshadowed by the circumstances around her death, pains me deeply. This film allows us the opportunity to share her humanity and talent with the world, and to experience the journey of her collaborators working to complete her final creative work. Halyna was destined for greatness, and she still is.”
Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Mala Chapple and Kate Barry will executive produce for Story Syndicate. UTA Independent Film Group will be handling the worldwide sales of the film. Story Syndicate and Mason are both repped by UTA.
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