Halyna Anatoliivna Hutchins (;
April 9, 1979 – October 21, 2021) was a Ukrainian
cinematographer
The cinematographer or director of photography (sometimes shortened to DP or DOP) is the person responsible for the recording of a film, television production, music video or other live-action piece. The cinematographer is the chief of the camera ...
. She worked on more than 30 feature-length films, short films, and TV miniseries, including the films ''
Archenemy
In literature, an archenemy, (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) or nemesis is the main enemy of the protagonist — or sometimes, one of the other main characters — appearing as the most prominent and most-known enemy of the hero.
Etymolog ...
'', ''
Darlin''', and ''Blindfire''. On October 21, 2021, during production on the set of the film ''
Rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...
'',
she was shot and killed by actor and producer
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
when he mistakenly fired a bullet from a firearm he was using as a movie prop, one he assumed was loaded with dummy rounds. The gun was under the care of Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, the set armorer who did not properly check the gun.
The resulting criminal cases filed after Hutchins' death dealt primarily with assigning negligence to the people on set, and investigating how a real round ended up inside of the gun.
Early life and education
Hutchins was born to a Ukrainian family on April 9,
1979, in
Gorodets,
Ukrainian SSR
The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, abbreviated as the Ukrainian SSR, UkrSSR, and also known as Soviet Ukraine or just Ukraine, was one of the Republics of the Soviet Union, constituent republics of the Soviet Union from 1922 until 1991. ...
,
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
(now
Horodets,
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
).
She grew up in the Russian city of
Murmansk
Murmansk () is a port city and the administrative center of Murmansk Oblast in the far Far North (Russia), northwest part of Russia. It is the world's largest city north of the Arctic Circle and sits on both slopes and banks of a modest fjord, Ko ...
, on a Soviet military base in the
Arctic
The Arctic (; . ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the North Pole, lying within the Arctic Circle. The Arctic region, from the IERS Reference Meridian travelling east, consists of parts of northern Norway ( ...
.
There, her father served in the
Soviet Navy
The Soviet Navy was the naval warfare Military, uniform service branch of the Soviet Armed Forces. Often referred to as the Red Fleet, the Soviet Navy made up a large part of the Soviet Union's strategic planning in the event of a conflict with t ...
.
She called herself an "
army brat".
According to film historian
Jim Hemphill, she first became interested in film while living at the military base.
She attended
National Agricultural University and then
Kyiv National University
The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine.
The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...
, first studying economics before changing her study to journalism.
Hutchins graduated with a degree in
international journalism and worked on documentary films as an
investigative journalist in Eastern Europe.
She met her husband Matthew, who is American, while in the US.
They had a son, Andros.
Though living in the US, she maintained her Ukrainian citizenship, remained proud of her heritage, and often returned to visit.
Career
Hutchins moved to Los Angeles to focus on filmmaking, taking on roles in production and
fashion photography
Fashion photography is a genre of photography that portrays clothing and other fashion items. This sometimes includes haute couture garments. It typically consists of a fashion photographer taking pictures of a dressed model in a photographic ...
.
She was an associate producer for ''World's Tallest Man'', a 2006 film about
Leonid Stadnyk by Wild Pictures; the film was premiered on the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
.
In 2010, she graduated from
UCLA TFT Professional Program in Producing.
In Los Angeles, she met
Bob Primes, a cinematographer. He encouraged Hutchins to apply to the
American Film Institute Conservatory, where he was a teacher.
She was accepted and began studying there in 2013 for a two-year master's program, which she graduated from in 2015.
mentored her there.
Her thesis project, ''Hidden'', made with director Rayan Farzad, was screened at the
LA Shorts Fest,
Camerimage International Film Festival,
AFI Fest
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Lead ...
and the
Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival (AFF), founded in 1994, is an organization in Austin, Texas, that focuses on writers' creative contributions to film. Initially, AFF was called the Austin Heart of Film Screenwriters Conference and functioned to launch the c ...
.
In 2018, she was one of the first eight female cinematographers participating in the
Fox
Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush").
Twelve species ...
DP Lab program, which was established to provide greater opportunities for women cinematographers.
In 2019, she was named one of the "10 up-and-coming directors of photography who are making their mark" by ''
American Cinematographer
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...
''.
She was director of photography on
Adam Egypt Mortimer's 2020 film ''
Archenemy
In literature, an archenemy, (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) or nemesis is the main enemy of the protagonist — or sometimes, one of the other main characters — appearing as the most prominent and most-known enemy of the hero.
Etymolog ...
''.
Mortimer had said of her, that her "tastes and sensibility of what is cinematic were a huge asset for executing our style"
and that "her AFI training and her skill with the math of LUT settings gave us the best texture I've found yet in shooting digital".
She is also credited for work on the films ''
Darlin''' (2019),
''Blindfire'' (2020) and ''The Mad Hatter'' (2021).
She was credited for her cinematographic work on ''Darlin by
Hollywood.com, where the film was highlighted after its feature at the March 2019
South by Southwest
South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...
film festival, in the Narrative Feature Competition.
Activism
Hutchins was a member of the
International Cinematographers Guild
The International Cinematographers Guild (IATSE Local 600) represents approximately 8,400 members who work throughout the United States, Canada and the rest of the world in film and television as Directors of Photography, Camera Operators, Came ...
and the
International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees
The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada, known as simply the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE or ...
, labor unions that represent entertainment industry's crew and technical workers in the US and Canada. She supported the
IATSE strike over working conditions days before her death.
Death
On October 21, 2021, Hutchins was working as director of photography on the set of the
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
film ''
Rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...
'', near
La Cienega, New Mexico. While preparing for a scene, actor
Alec Baldwin
Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...
discharged a Pietta
.45 Colt revolver used as a
prop
A prop, formally known as a (theatrical) property, is an object actors use on stage or screen during a performance or screen production. In practical terms, a prop is considered to be anything movable or portable on a stage or a set, distinct ...
,
fatally wounding her and injuring director
Joel Souza
Joel Souza (born June 14, 1973) is an American film director and screenwriter.
Career
Souza was initially inspired to become a filmmaker after viewing the Indiana Jones film ''Raiders of the Lost Ark'' (1981).
As a writer and director, Souz ...
. She died later that day at the age of 42 while being transferred to the
University of New Mexico Hospital in
Albuquerque
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
.
Baldwin released a statement the next day expressing shock and sadness at the incident. He said he would cooperate with police and offered support to her family.
A
candlelight vigil at the Albuquerque Civic Plaza was organized by local IATSE chapters and held on October 23. It drew hundreds of people. She is buried at
Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Hollywood Forever Cemetery is a full-service cemetery, funeral home, crematorium, crematory, and cultural events center which regularly hosts community events such as live music and summer movie screenings. It is one of the oldest cemeteries ...
in Hollywood, California.
On February 15, 2022, it was reported that the family of Hutchins had filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and other crew members of the film ''Rust'', alleging that her wrongful death on the set was caused by irresponsible behavior and cost-cutting. The lawsuit was settled for undisclosed sums, on October 5, 2022, with her widower being given a job as executive producer of the film.
On January 19, 2023, ''Rust'' first assistant director David Halls pled guilty to negligent use of a deadly weapon, and received a
suspended sentence
A suspended sentence is a sentence on conviction for a criminal offence, the serving of which the court orders to be deferred in order to allow the defendant to perform a period of probation. If the defendant does not break the law during that ...
and six months of
probation
Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...
. On March 31, 2023, Halls pleaded no contest to an additional misdemeanor charge of negligent use of a deadly weapon, for which he received a sentence of six months of unsupervised probation, a $500 fine and 24 hours of community service. On April 21, 2023, the special prosecutor's office in New Mexico announced the dismissal of involuntary manslaughter charges against Baldwin. On August 4, 2023, ''Rust'' movie armorer
Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was then the sole remaining criminal defendant for the shooting that killed Hutchins, waived her right for a preliminary hearing to determine whether or not the criminal charges against her would stand, thus allowing the trial against her to take place. On January 19, 2024, a grand jury indicted Baldwin for involuntary manslaughter, and charges against him were refiled.
On March 6, 2024, a jury deliberated for about two hours and found Gutierrez-Reed guilty of
involuntary manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...
but not guilty of the additional charge of
tampering with evidence
Tampering with evidence, or evidence tampering, is an act in which a person alters, conceals, falsifies, or destroys evidence with the intent to interfere with an investigation (usually) by a law-enforcement, governmental, or regulatory authority. ...
. She was sentenced to 18 months in prison on April 15, 2024. On July 12, 2024, a judge dismissed the case against Alec Baldwin with
prejudice
Prejudice can be an affect (psychology), affective feeling towards a person based on their perceived In-group and out-group, social group membership. The word is often used to refer to a preconceived (usually unfavourable) evaluation or classifi ...
following the revelation that the prosecution withheld evidence from the defense. Shortly after the criminal case against Baldwin was dismissed, lawyers for Hutchins' widower and parents announced they vow to seek civil litigation against the actor.
Legacy
In October 2021, following Hutchins's death, teachers and friends of hers at the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the History of cinema in the United States, motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private fu ...
established the Halyna Hutchins Memorial Scholarship Fund dedicated to supporting the education of female cinematographers.
Hutchins's widower Matt Hutchins endorsed the project and asked for anyone wishing to honor her memory to donate to the fund.
Hutchins's death inspired calls for gun safety reform on film sets. Alexi Hawley, a producer of the American police procedural ''
The Rookie'', confirmed that, following Hutchins's death, all live guns on the show were to be replaced with
Airsoft guns
Airsoft guns are air guns used in airsoft sports. They are a special type of low-power smoothbore guns designed to shoot Airsoft pellets, plastic pellets often colloquially (but incorrectly) referred to as "BB (ammunition), BBs", which are typ ...
and CG flashes.
Eric Kripke
Eric Kripke (born 1974) is an American screenwriting, writer and television producer. Kripke came to prominence in the late 2000s for creating The WB/The CW, CW fantasy drama series ''Supernatural (American TV series), Supernatural'' (2005–2020) ...
, showrunner of the American superhero TV series ''
The Boys'', similarly vowed to ban blanks and guns on his show.
Less than two hours after Hutchins's death, filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi, a former AFI Conservatory Directing fellow classmate (class of 2010), proposed a ban on real guns on film and television sets. He created a petition for "Halyna's Law" on
Change.org, which was signed by actors
Olivia Wilde
Olivia Wilde (born Olivia Jane Cockburn, , March 10, 1984) is an American actress and director. She played Thirteen (House), Remy "Thirteen" Hadley on the medical-drama television series ''House (TV series), House'' (2007–2012), and appeared ...
,
Dwayne Johnson
Dwayne Douglas Johnson (born May 2, 1972), also known by his ring name The Rock, is an American actor and professional wrestler. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on a part-time basis. Widely regarded as one of the greatest professional w ...
,
Ariana DeBose
Ariana DeBose (; born January 25, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Ariana DeBose, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Golden Globe ...
,
Julianne Moore
Julie Anne Smith (born December 3, 1960), known professionally as Julianne Moore, is an American actress and children's author. Prolific in film since the early 1990s, she is known for her portrayals of emotionally troubled women in independent ...
,
Anna Paquin
Anna Helene Paquin ( ; born 24 July 1982) is a New Zealand actress. Born in Winnipeg and raised in Wellington, she made her acting debut in the romantic drama film ''The Piano'' (1993), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Act ...
,
Elijah Wood
Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. Wood made his film debut with a minor part in ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) at the age of eight and achieved recognition in the early 1990s as a child acto ...
,
Lena Dunham
Lena Dunham (; born May 13, 1986) is an American writer, director, actress, and producer. She is the creator, writer, and star of the HBO television series '' Girls'' (2012–2017), for which she received several Emmy Award nominations and two G ...
and
Ava DuVernay
Ava Marie DuVernay (; born August 24, 1972) is an American filmmaker, screenwriter, and producer. She is a recipient of two Primetime Emmy Awards, Primetime Emmy Awards, two NAACP Image Awards, NAACP Image Awards, a British Academy Film Awards, ...
. Albuliwi has been working with state senators, including California State Senator
Dave Cortese, to propose California legislation that would make it a felony to use real ammunition on film and television sets. Over 200 cinematographers called in an open letter to ban functional firearms on film sets.
In November 2021, the
American Society of Cinematographers
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...
posthumously honored Hutchins's work as a cinematographer by awarding her honorary membership.
An authorized documentary ''
Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna'' directed by her close friend and collaborator
Rachel Mason, and executive produced by Matthew Hutchins, produced by
Story Syndicate, was released in March 2025, on
Hulu
Hulu (, ) is an American Subscription business model, subscription streaming media service owned by Disney Streaming, a subsidiary of the Disney Entertainment segment of the Walt Disney Company. It was launched on October 29, 2007, initially as ...
.
Filmography
* ''World's Tallest Man'' (2006)
* ''Snowbound'' (2017)
* ''A Luv Tale: The Series'' (2018–2021)
* ''
Darlin''' (2019)
* ''
Archenemy
In literature, an archenemy, (sometimes spelled as arch-enemy) or nemesis is the main enemy of the protagonist — or sometimes, one of the other main characters — appearing as the most prominent and most-known enemy of the hero.
Etymolog ...
'' (2020)
* ''Blindfire'' (2020)
* ''To the New Girl'' (2020)
* ''The Mad Hatter'' (2021)
* ''
Time Cut'' (2024)
* ''
Rust
Rust is an iron oxide, a usually reddish-brown oxide formed by the reaction of iron and oxygen in the catalytic presence of water or air moisture. Rust consists of hydrous iron(III) oxides (Fe2O3·nH2O) and iron(III) oxide-hydroxide (FeO(OH) ...
'' (2024)
See also
*
List of film and television accidents
Notes
References
Further reading
* Calhoun, John (February 2019)
"AC Special Focus: Rising Stars of Cinematography" ''
American Cinematographer
The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), founded in Hollywood in 1919, is a cultural, educational, and professional organization that is neither a labor union nor a guild. The society was organized to advance the science and art of cinem ...
''. pp. 20, 22
*
*
External links
*
*
Halyna Hutchinsat
International Collective of Female Cinematographers
The International Collective of Female⁺ Cinematographers (The ICF⁺C) is a collective of professional cinematographers from around the world that works to advance the careers of female cinematographers by connecting with filmmakers and product ...
Halyna Anatoliivna Androsovych Hutchins 1979-2021at
Find a Grave
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchins, Halyna
1979 births
2021 deaths
20th-century Ukrainian women
21st-century Ukrainian journalists
21st-century Ukrainian women journalists
AFI Conservatory alumni
Accidental deaths in New Mexico
American women cinematographers
American cinematographers
Burials at Hollywood Forever Cemetery
Deaths by firearm in New Mexico
Firearm accident victims in the United States
National University of Life and Environmental Sciences of Ukraine alumni
People from Zhytomyr Oblast
Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv alumni
University of Kyiv, Journalism Institute alumni
UCLA Film School alumni
Ukrainian cinematographers
Ukrainian emigrants to the United States
21st-century American women