The tributes are up to the shock
.
Ukrainian-born cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on October 21 while filming the movie
Rust
in New Mexico. She was killed by an accidental gunshot fired by actor Alec Baldwin. Director Adam Egypt Mortimer, with whom she had shot
Archenemy,
paid tribute to her colleague.
“I am so sad that I lost Halyna. And so furious that it could happen on a set. He was a brilliant talent who was absolutely devoted to art and film. ”
Born in Ukraine in 1979, she spent her childhood on a Soviet military base with her parents,
"surrounded by reindeer and nuclear submarines",
as she recounts in her bio on her personal website.
His passion for cinema dates back to this time.
“There wasn't much to do outside,”
the young woman explained to the American Photographer in 2019.
From journalism to cinema
Passionate about information, she became an investigative journalist, after graduating in international journalism from the University of Kiev.
She works in particular on documentary productions in Great Britain.
Read also Alec Baldwin author of a fatal shot on the set of a western
With this first audiovisual experience, and driven by his passion for the seventh art, Hutchins turned to cinema and moved to Los Angeles.
From 2013 to 2015, she trained at the
American Film Institute Conservatory
.
Her diploma in hand, she works directly on several Hollywood productions, always as director of photography.
After remarkable first work on feature films such as
Snowbound
in 2017, his career accelerated two years ago.
First
Archenemy
and
Blindfire
in 2020, then
The Mad Hatter
in 2021, the forty-something went on to produce.
His work on
Rust
was one more step towards the heights of American cinema.
On the rise
“I think she was going to become a very famous cinematographer, with great success.
Director Adam Egypt Mortimer
told the
Los Angeles Times
.
“
After doing
Archenemy
, people would call me and say, 'She did a great job.
We are thinking of proposing it for something. ”
She was forging a reputation.
She was showing people what she could do. ”
The filmmaker again praised the work of his colleague last November, highlighting
“a brilliant mind for light and texture.
His taste and sensitivity to the cinematic has been a huge asset in the execution of our style. ”
In 2019
,
Halyna Hutchins was among the eight
“rising stars”
of the industry selected by the Hollywood Photographer.
She explained to the specialist magazine her love of teamwork:
“For me, it's the collaborative effort between creative minds that elevates everyone's work.
»Ambitious, she also confided«
wanting to work with Wong Kar-wai.
"
Rain of tributes
Tributes abound since the terrible news broke. The very moved director Michael Pessah recalls the memory of his friend at
Variety:
"a wonderful, positive and creative person, who was delighted to break through and make films."
Actor Joe Marangiello, who met her on the set of the film
Archenemy
, remembers her as
“an incredible talent and a great person. Can't believe this can happen in our time ... shots from an accessory pistol can kill a crew member? What a horrible tragedy. I am wholeheartedly with his family. ”
In a tweet, filmmaker Elle Schneider also highlighted the tragedy of losing such a young talent: “
Cinematographers have always been kept away from genre films, and it is particularly cruel that one Rising stars who made it through had their lives cut short on the type of project we fought for.
"
