Halyna Hutchins

Hutchins was born in 1979[2][3] in Horodets, Ukrainian SSR, but grew up in the Russian city of Murmansk,[1] on a Soviet military base in the Arctic,[1][4] where her father served in the Soviet Navy.[5] She called herself an "army brat".[4] According to film historian Jim Hemphill, she first became interested in film while living at the military base.[6] She attended National Agricultural University[1] and then Kyiv National University, first studying economics before changing her study to journalism.[7] Hutchins graduated with a degree in international journalism and worked on documentary films as an investigative journalist in Eastern Europe.[8][9][10] She met her husband Matthew,[11] who is American, while in US.[12] They have a son.[11] She had Ukrainian citizenship,[13] remained proud of her heritage and often returned to visit.[14]

Hutchins moved to Los Angeles to focus on filmmaking, taking on roles in production and fashion photography.[15][16][4] In 2010, she graduated from UCLA TFT Professional Program in Producing.[2][17] 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.[16] She was accepted and began studying there in 2013 for a two-year master's program, which she graduated from in 2015.[18][15] Stephen Lighthill mentored her there.[15] Her thesis project, Hidden, made with director Rayan Farzad, was screened at the LA Shorts Fest, Camerimage International Film Festival, AFI Fest and the Austin Film Festival.[15][19]

In 2018, she was one of the first eight female cinematographers participating in the Fox DP Lab program, which was established to provide greater opportunities for women cinematographers.[19][20] In 2019, she was named one of the "10 up-and-coming directors of photography who are making their mark" by American Cinematographer.[15]

She was director of photography on Adam Egypt Mortimer's 2020 film Archenemy.[21] Mortimer had said of her, that her "tastes and sensibility of what is cinematic were a huge asset for executing our style"[22] 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".[23]

She is also credited for work on the films Darlin' (2019),[24] Blindfire (2020) and The Mad Hatter (2021).[25][26][27]

Hutchins was a member of the International Cinematographers Guild and the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees, labor unions that represent entertainment industry's crew and technical workers in the US and Canada.[28][29] She supported the IATSE strike over working conditions days before her death. Shortly after her tragic death, filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi launched a petition in her honor on Change.org which called for Halyna's Law, which called for the banning of real guns and live ammunition on film and television sets. He worked alongside California State Senator Dave Cortese, and forced the state of California to propose legislation that would make it a felony to use real ammunition on film and television sets. [30][31] [32] [33][34]

On October 21, 2021, Hutchins was working near La Cienega, New Mexico, as director of photography on the set of the Western film Rust, when actor Alec Baldwin discharged a Pietta .45 Colt revolver[35] used as a prop,[36] fatally wounding her and injuring director Joel Souza. She died later that day in flight to the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque.[37][28][38] 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.[39]

A candlelight vigil at the Albuquerque Civic Plaza was organized by local IATSE chapters and held on October 23. It drew hundreds of people.[40][41] She was buried at Hollywood Forever Cemetery in Hollywood, California.

On February 15, 2022, it was reported that the family of Hutchins had filed a lawsuit against Baldwin and other members of the film Rust, alleging that her wrongful death on the set was caused by irresponsible behavior and cost-cutting.[42]

In October 2021, following Hutchins's death, teachers and friends of hers at the American Film Institute established the Halyna Hutchins Memorial Scholarship Fund dedicated to supporting the education of female cinematographers.[17][43] Hutchins's widower Matt Hutchins endorsed the project and asked for anyone wishing to honor her memory to donate to the fund.[44]

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 and CG flashes.[45] Eric Kripke, showrunner of the American superhero TV series The Boys, similarly vowed to ban blanks and guns on his show.[46]

Less than two hours following Hutchins's death, Filmmaker Bandar Albuliwi, a former AFI Conservatory Directing fellow classmate (class of 2010), proposed a blanket ban of real guns on film and television sets. He created a petition for "Halyna's Law" on Change.org, which was signed by A-list celebrities, including actress and director Olivia Wilde, Dwayne Johnson, Ariana DeBose, Julianne Moore, Anna Paquin, Elijah Wood, Lena Dunham, Ava DuVernay, among dozens of other notable celebrities. Albuliwi has been working alongside numerous state senators, including California State Senator Dave Cortese, where together they got the state of California to propose legislation that would make it a felony to use real ammunition on film and television sets.[47] Over 200 cinematographers called in an open letter to ban functional firearms on film sets.[48]

In November 2021, the American Society of Cinematographers honored Hutchins's work as a cinematographer by awarding her membership.[49][50]

• Snowbound (2017)[51]
• A Luv Tale: The Series (2018–2021)[52][2]
• Darlin' (2019)[51]
• Archenemy (2020)[51]
• Blindfire (2020)[29]
• To the New Girl (2020)[2]
• The Mad Hatter (2021)[29]
• Rust (suspended)[51][53]

• List of film and television accidents

• Calhoun, John (February 2019). "AC Special Focus: Rising Stars of Cinematography". American Cinematographer. pp. 20, 22

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Halyna Hutchins

• Official website
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