“Rust” with Alec Baldwin, the film’s premiere at the Camerimage festival does not escape controversy

FESTIVAL – A little more than three years after the accident which cost the life of Halyna Hutchins, the film Rust will be presented for the first time. The world premiere of the feature film directed by Joel Souza takes place this Wednesday, November 20 in Toruń, without the presence of Alec Baldwin. A highly anticipated screening, in a tense context for the Camerimage festival due to the tragic story of the film, but not only that.

On October 21, 2021 in Sante Fe, New Mexico, while filming a scene, Alec Baldwin shoots in the direction of the film crew. His gun, which was not loaded with blanks, injured the director, Joel Souza, and killed the cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. After more than two years of proceedings and several trials – the last one which was to try Alec Baldwin for manslaughter was canceled for procedural defects in July – the “Rust” case is now “over”. The film is ready to be released in theaters (on a date still unknown) and it will therefore make its debut at the Camerimage festival.

This decision to put Rust on display was criticized by several sisters and brothers of Halyna Hutchins when the announcement was made on Instagram on October 6. Many comments echoed the remark of the director and director of Rachel Morrison. “ I am for paying tribute to Halyna, but not by screening and broadcasting the film that killed her » says the director of the film The Fire Insidein competition this year. Many people accuse the festival organization of wanting to generate buzz with this film.

A tribute to Halyna Hotchins

And it is clear that the choice to project Rust has indeed generated agitation. As explained by Hollywood Reporterthe sale of tickets for the film’s preview caused the festival’s website to crash on Tuesday, November 19.

Festival director Marek Żydowicz, however, explained that it was indeed a tribute and not a choice made to arouse any controversy, as recalled by the Hollywood Reporter. « Her friends contacted us because she told them how much she dreamed of this film being screened at our festival. That’s all. We don’t need this extra attention. Besides, we did not invite Alec Baldwin and never intended to do so » affirme Marek Żydowicz.

Alec Baldwin in “Rust”

For the occasion, the festivals has also chosen to pay tribute to the director of photography of Ukrainian origin in an official manner. Following the screening, a round table will take place with the film’s director Joel Souza, Stephen Lighthill, Halyna Hutchins’ mentor, and Bianca Cline who replaced her after her death on Rust. The discussions will focus on the work of Halyna Hutchins, but also on the importance of safety on set and the place of women in the film industry.

Coincidentally, it is precisely on this subject that tensions concerning the festival have crystallized in recent days. In question a column by Marek Żydowicz published in the specialized magazine Cinematography World, where he mentions a petition launched this summer by the “Women in Cinematography” group, asking for efforts on the representation of women at the Camerimage festival.

Camerimage under fire from critics

Marek Żydowicz questions in particular the need to “ sacrificing the work of artists with exceptional visions, simply to make room for mediocre productions “. Comments deemed sexist and misogynistic which led to an outcry from several professional associations, but not only that.

Some directors canceled their presence. Steve McQueen, for example, was absent from the screening of his film Blitz, and director Coralie Fargeat announced on X (formerly Twitter) that she had withdrawn her film The Substance of the selection “ after reading the misogynistic and offensive words of the festival director ».

In his message of apology published shortly after, Marek Żydowicz, after nevertheless pointing out a possible poor translation of his remarks into Polish, assures: “ we support and will continue to support women and their efforts to gain the recognition they deserve in the film industry. »

As stated in the response statement from Women in Photographyonly 3.1% of films selected over the festival’s 30 years had female cinematographers. This year, this is the case for only one film in official competition: The Fire Inside by Rachel Morrison with Rina Yang as cinematographer. Rustwith Travis Fimmel, Jensen Ackles and Frances Fisher in the cast, does not appear in the official selection.