TORUN, Poland (AP) – The mother of late singer Halyna Hutchins is rejecting the international premiere of “Rust” at a Polish film festival on Wednesday, saying she sees it as an attempt by Alec Baldwin to “profit” from her daughter. death.
The Western is leading to the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage in the city of Torun three years after Hutchins was accidentally shot on the set.
Baldwin, the lead actor and producer of “Rust,” pointed a gun at Hutchins during a rehearsal at a location outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, in October 2021 when the volume went off, killing Hutchins and director Joel Souza. Baldwin said he cocked the hammer — but not the trigger — of the gun and fired.
Souza was expected to bring the film to the festival, a famous industry event dedicated to the art of film, and the first one was dedicated to Hutchins.
“It has been my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to see her work live on screen,” said Hutchins’ mother, Olga Solovey in a statement released by her lawyer and carried by the British news agency, PA.
“Unfortunately, I had my gun taken away when Alec Baldwin dropped his gun and killed my daughter.” “Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologize and his refusal to take responsibility for his death. , he seeks to profit unjustly by killing my daughter.”
“That’s why I refuse to go to the Rust promotion event, especially now when there is no justice for my daughter,” he added.
Hutchins, 48, was a rising Ukrainian actress and the mother of a young son when she was killed. He grew up in a remote Soviet military base and worked on documentary films in Eastern Europe before studying film in Los Angeles and starting a promising career in filmmaking.
A New Mexico judge has dismissed Baldwin’s murder charge in the fatal shooting. But even though the criminal threat has been dropped, he is facing other federal charges, including one against Solovey.
The film’s gunman, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, received a total sentence of 18 months in prison for involuntary manslaughter. A New Mexico judge found earlier this year that his recklessness was the same as a felony. Prosecutors accused Gutierrez-Reed of unknowingly bringing a firearm to the set of “Rust,” which was expressly prohibited, and failing to follow basic gun safety regulations.
This year’s CameraImage festival has already been met with controversy.
“Blitz” director Steve McQueen left the show in protest of a script for female movie stars written by show creator Marek Żydowicz that McQueen saw as sexist. Żydowicz then apologized.