Starring and produced by Baldwin, the Western hit headlines in 2021 after Halyna Hutchins was shot dead and director Joel Souza was wounded during rehearsals.
It has now been announced that although Baldwin will not appear at the Camerimage International Film Festival premiere, the events will not be ignored.
“The filmmakers will discuss events surrounding the film [at a panel], offering insight into continuing production after Halyna’s death,” say the organizers of Camerimage.
“Maintaining Hutchins’ artistic vision, as tremendously challenging as it was for the entire crew, was really important to the filmmakers, hoping to fulfill their duty to complete her work.”
The organizers added: “Halyna’s story will serve as a starting point for a conversation about the role of women in cinematography and their contributions to the art of filmmaking. Another key topic of the discussion will be safety on set.”
While many showbiz insiders have been surprised that Camerimage was picked to host the premiere, the choice was by no means incidental.
A staunch fan of the festival, the Ukrainian-born Hutchins had long harbored hopes of seeing the film screened at Camerimage. “Even during the early stages of Rust’s production, [she] convinced director Joel Souza that their work should be shown [here],” said the organizers.
Although Hutchins’ family settled a wrongful death suit in October 2022, filming of Rust was further delayed by criminal charges.
Baldwin, who has described the film as “a passion project” was charged with involuntary manslaughter, only to see the case abruptly dismissed this summer.
Assistant director Dave Halls took a plea deal for negligence with a deadly weapon, while armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed was jailed for 18 months for involuntary manslaughter. On Monday, Gutierrez-Reed saw an appeal for a new trial rejected.
Running from November 16th to November 23rd, the festival’s organizers have already confirmed that they will open with a screening of Steve McQueen’s WWII epic Blitz. Cate Blanchett, meanwhile, will chair the main competition jury.
