A new documentary will chronicle the life of cinematographer Halyna...

A new documentary will chronicle the life of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was killed by an accidental shooting on the set of the Alec Baldwin Western "Rust" in 2021. Credit: Getty Images for SAGindie / Fred Hayes

A Brooklyn-based film company is producing a documentary feature about Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who died last year on the set of the Alec Baldwin Western "Rust" when an antique gun the actor was holding accidentally discharged an inadvertent live round.

“Halyna was on the cusp of making a lasting mark on cinema," said Rachel Mason, director of the upcoming film, in a statement Wednesday from production company Story Syndicate. "As a filmmaker, I wanted to make movies with her. Never could I have imagined that I would be making a film about her. The world lost a great artist, but I lost a friend."

Hutchins, 42, died Oct. 21, 2021, on the movie's Santa Fe County, New Mexico, set when an antique 45-caliber Long Colt F.lli Pietta single-action revolver held by Baldwin discharged, killing her and wounding director Joel Souza. This August, a postmortem-examination report by New Mexico's chief medical investigator ruled Hutchins' death as accidental. The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office three weeks ago delivered the results of its investigation to District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies, who might pursue charges in the shooting.

The documentary, Story Syndicate said in a news release, "will paint a powerful portrait of Hutchins’ journey from her youth living on a remote Soviet naval base and then in Kyiv, Ukraine, to becoming one of independent film’s most in-demand cinematographers." The production company said it had exclusive access to Hutchins’ personal archives, and the endorsement of Hutchins' husband, Matt Hutchins.

"The fact that her brilliance as an artist was instantly overshadowed by the circumstances around her death, pains me deeply," continued Mason in her statement. "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.”

Matt Hutchins announced last month that "Rust" would resume filming in January. “We have reached a settlement, subject to court approval, for our wrongful death case against the producers of ‘Rust,’ including Alec Baldwin and Rust Movie Productions, LLC," he said, noting that as part of the settlement he was dismissing his lawsuit and signing on as an executive producer.

Producer-star Baldwin, who was born in Amityville and raised in Massapequa, has not commented publicly on the documentary announcement.

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