Alec Baldwin’s ‘Rust’ to Make World Premiere Next Month at Film Festival in Poland

The ill-fated Alec Baldwin film “Rust” will make its world premiere next month at the EnergaCamerimage international cinematography film festival in Toruń, Poland. The festival takes place from November 16-23.

The low-budget Western finally bows nearly three years after the accidental shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was from neighboring Ukraine. Armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was sentenced to 18 months for her role in the accident, while Baldwin’s case was tossed over the prosecution’s mishandling of evidence.

The “Rust” debut will include a panel with director Joel Souza, who was injured in the October 2021 firearms mishap during a rehearsal on the New Mexico set. Other panelists will include cinematographer Bianca Cline, who finished the film, and Stephen Lighthill, one of Hutchins’ film school mentors.

Though filming halted after Hutchins’ 2021 death, Baldwin and fellow producers reassembled the production and completed it many months later, even as manslaughter charges still loomed for the actor in New Mexico.

“We knew that our event was important to [Hutchins], and that she felt at home among cinematographers from all over the world, who have been gathering at Camerimage for over 30 years,” festival director Marek Zydowicz said. “During the festival, we honored Halyna’s memory with a moment of silence and a panel of cinematographers discussed safety on set. Now, once again, together with cinematographers and film enthusiasts, we will have this special opportunity to remember her.”

The panel will discuss the unique visual style that Hutchins developed and explain how Cline replicated her unique style. They will also talk about on-set safety issues and the role of female cinematographers.

“Rust” follows a 13-year-old boy who, left to care for himself and his younger brother following their parents’ deaths in 1880s Wyoming, goes on the run with his long-estranged grandfather, who has been sentenced to hang for the accidental killing of a local rancher.