RustDirector Says Movie's Premiere Is 'Bittersweet' 3 Years After On-Set Death of Halyna Hutchins

Mar. 15, 2025

‘Rust’ film still; Halyna Hutchins.Photo:Bianca Cline/The Avenue; Fred Hayes/Getty

Bianca Cline/The Avenue; Fred Hayes/Getty

Rustdirector Joel Souza is reflecting on the movie’s world premiere in Poland three years after cinematographerHalyna Hutchinswasshot dead on set.

“I think we would all have preferred that the movie was finished a long time ago, that Halyna was there standing proudly talking about it," Souza told the outlet after the premiere at the festival, which honors the work of cinematographers and directors of photography.

Hutchins died after the prop gun thatRustcast memberAlec Baldwinwas holding discharged while he was rehearsing a scene. The actor has said he did not pull the trigger of the gun or know why it contained live ammunition.

Joel Souza pictured following ‘Rust’ screening at movie’s Camerimage Festival premiere on Nov. 20, 2024.Jakub Porzycki/Anadolu via Getty

Jakub Porzycki/Anadolu via Getty

Souza told NBC News of the premiere on Wednesday, “It’s been so long living with the movie and everything that happened and just all the sort of … insanity that kind of engulfed everything. There is a sense of relief, I think, in this moment finally having happened.”

“I doubt that [his attending] was ever even discussed. I mean, this is a cinematographers' film festival,” the movie-maker added to the outlet of Baldwin not being in attendance.

Alec Baldwin in ‘Rust’.Courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office

The premiere came afterPEOPLE reportedthat Hutchins' mother,Olga Solovey, would not be attending Wednesday’s event.

In a statement shared through her attorney Gloria Allred, Solovey said, “It was always my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work come alive on screen.”

“Unfortunately, that was ripped away from me when Alec Baldwin discharged his gun and killed my daughter. Alec Baldwin continues to increase my pain with his refusal to apologize to me and his refusal to take responsibility for her death,” she added, per the statement.

“Instead, he seeks to unjustly profit from his killing of my daughter. That is the reason why I refuse to attend the festival for the promotion ofRust, especially now when there is still no justice for my daughter,” Solovey’s message included.

Halyna Hutchins.Mat Hayward/Getty

Mat Hayward/Getty

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Rustcompleted filmingin May 2023.

It was announced in October that the film would have its world premiere at the Polish festival on Wednesday. At that time, cinematographer Bianca Cline, who finished shooting the movie in Hutchins' place, told PEOPLE in a statement that Hutchins' mother and sister were “very excited” for the movie to release.

“Halyna’s mother was probably the biggest champion of the film,” Cline previously said. “She wanted it to be done because she knew how much it meant to Halyna. She told me how excited Halyna was to see the film.”

Rustdoes not yet have a U.S. release date.

source: people.com