'Rust' Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins Is Getting A Documentary About Her Life

Last October, cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was killed and director Joel Souza was injured when a gun that was held by actor Alec Baldwin was discharged on the set of “Rust.”

The Ukrainian cinematographer, who passed away at age 42, left behind a husband, Matthew Hutchins, and a young son. She had worked on more than thirty feature films, short films, and TV miniseries. On Wednesday, it was reported that a documentary is going to be made about her life.

The feature film about her life is being produced by Story Syndicate, which will explore her life, her celebrated body of works, and her sudden death on the set of the Western film in New Mexico. According to Deadline, who first reported the news, the documentary has the “full backing” of Matt Hutchins.

Emmy-nominated director Rachel Mason is reportedly directing the film, with Julee Metz tapped to produce the feature. Not many details about the film have been released; at this time, it is reported that the documentary does not yet have a title.

Story Syndicate has reportedly been given “exclusive access” to some of Halyna’s personal and professional archives to tell the story of her life, which began on a remote Soviet naval base. The aspiring filmmaker later moved to Kyiv, Ukraine, where she started working on independent films to critical acclaim.

It is unclear how much the documentary will focus on her sudden death or the journey to complete the film. Although the Hutchins family had filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Alec Baldwin and other “Rust” producers in February, they settled earlier this year. As part of the settlement, Matt Hutchins was added as an executive producer to the film, which will resume filming in January 2023. The original cast is expected to return, although producers are currently scouting locations in California to continue filming the movie.

“Circus of Books” filmmaker Rachel Mason made a touching state to Deadline regarding the documentary. “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. “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,” she continued. “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.”

Producer Julee Metz added, “Halyna and I worked in the same industry and shared a passion for storytelling, but what bonded us as friends was motherhood. Our families became incredibly close over the years and when the unimaginable happened, I knew I needed to pay tribute to Halyna by telling her incredible story in the fullest way possible."

"Rachel and I are thrilled to be able to partner with Story Syndicate to make this vision come to life, and we’re honored that Matt Hutchins has entrusted us with her story,” Metz added.

Although Alec Baldwin settled his wrongful death lawsuit with the family of Halyna Hutchins, he turned around and filed a lawsuit against several "Rust" crew members on Friday, November 11.

The negligence and indemnification lawsuit names “Rust” armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, first assistant director David Halls, property master Sarah Zachry, and weapons and rounds supplier Seth Kenney – and his company – as defendants (via Deadline).

In the cross-complaint from Baldwin’s attorney, Luke Nikas, the “Boss Baby” actor blames the crew members for failing to check the gun for live bullets. The complaint reads, “This tragedy happened because live bullets were delivered to the set and loaded into the gun, Gutierrez-Reed failed to check the bullets or the gun carefully, Halls failed to check the gun carefully and yet announced the gun was safe before handing it to Baldwin, and Zachry failed to disclose that Gutierrez-Reed had been acting recklessly off set and was a safety risk to those around her.”

No one has yet to be criminally charged for Halyna Hutchins' death, although the Santa Fe police department has finished its investigation and handed the report over to the District Attorney for review.