Syndicate plans documentary on cinematographer Halyna Hutchins

• Story Syndicate is paying tribute to Halyna Hutchins with a new feature documentary.
• Documentary aims to highlight her life beyond her well-publicized passing.
• Film will trace her early years and path to becoming sought-after cinematographers.

Story Syndicate is paying tribute to renowned cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, with a brand-new feature documentary that has recently gone into production.

Story Syndicate is paying tribute to renowned cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. According to a report from Deadline, the documentary aims to highlight her life beyond her well-publicized passing by tracing her early years and path to becoming one of the indie film industry’s most sought-after cinematographers.

The film, which is being directed by Emmy nominee Rachel Mason, has Hutchins’ husband Matt Hutchins’ full support and will be produced by Julee Metz of Story Syndicate.

Under the Syndicate label, Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Mala Chapple, and Kate Barry will all serve as executive producers.

Hutchins had become fond of movies while growing up on a remote Soviet naval base and then in Kyiv, Ukraine. She began by working on documentaries, later relocating to Los Angeles and putting all of her attention into honing her profession.

She finally rose to fame as a renowned cinematographer for independent filmmakers. Working with Adam Egypt Mortimer on Archenemy and Pollyanna McIntosh on Darlin’, among many others, would garner her tremendous recognition.

At the English Riviera Film Festival, she would also win the Jury Prize for Best Cinematography for her work on the movie Treacle.

She earned more than 30 credits throughout the course of her career working in the cinematography departments or as the director of photography for a range of movies and television shows.

The presently unnamed documentary will be able to tell Hutchins’ complete narrative as a person and an artist thanks to unique access to her archives. It also seeks to investigate how she died and the circumstances that led up to it.

On the set of the independent western Rust last year, Hutchins was tragically shot when Alec Baldwin discharged a live round from a pretend rifle that he was informed was “cold.”

In addition to harming director Joel Souza, the tragedy forced the production to stop for a long period of time while inquiries were made and the family dealt with a wrongful death lawsuit.

It was a sombre, heartbreaking reminder of how things can go horribly wrong on film, and sympathy and support for the cinematographer came from all corners of the business.

AFI later gave Hutchins a memorial fellowship in her honour to support other aspiring female cinematographers. Last month, producers, including Baldwin, came to an agreement for an undisclosed sum of money and Hutchins’ husband to serve as an executive producer on the movie.

In a formal statement, Mason discussed the significance of showcasing Hutchins’ identity through the documentary and what Hutchins meant to her personally.

“Halyna was on the cusp of making a lasting mark on cinema. 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. The fact that her brilliance as an artist was instantly overshadowed by the circumstances around her death, pains me deeply. 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.”

Meanwhile, Metz described her own interaction with Hutchins and her motivation for joining the project, adding:

“Halyna and I worked in the same industry and shared a passion for storytelling, but what bonded us as friends was motherhood. Our families became incredibly close over the years and when the unimaginable happened, I knew I needed to pay tribute to Halyna by telling her incredible story in the fullest way possible. Rachel and I are thrilled to be able to partner with Story Syndicate to make this vision come to life, and we’re honored that Matt Hutchins has entrusted us with her story.”

With the help of this movie, it is hoped that Hutchins will be remembered for much more than the terrible event that claimed her life.

Once production on the documentary begins, we’ll have more information. See Hutchins’ cinematography in action in the Archenemy trailer below.

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