REST cinematographer Halyna Hutchins receives documentary from Story Syndicate director Rachel Mason; Project approved by DP’s husband Matt Hutchins

EXCLUSIVE: Story Syndicate has begun production on a documentary about the life and work of award-winning cinematographer Halyna Hutchins and her untimely death on the set of the Western. rust. Emmy-nominated Rachel Mason (circus of books) is directing the film, which has the full endorsement of DP’s husband Matt Hutchins, while Julee Metz is producing for Story Syndicate.

The untitled documentary, made with exclusive access to Hutchins’ personal and professional archives, will paint a powerful portrait of her journey from her childhood on a remote Soviet naval base and then to Kiev, Ukraine, to one of the independent films. most sought after filmmakers. The celebration and tribute to Hutchin’s vessel will also examine conditions on set rustthe Alec Baldwin-led indie in which Hutchins was fatally wounded and the emotional journey of those involved in completing the film.

The industry was rocked last October when it was revealed that Hutchins was fatally shot by Baldwin while filming at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The actor did so with a gun he was told was “cold” that actually contained at least one live round of ammunition that also injured him rust‘s director Joel Souza when it was fired. production on rust was suspended indefinitely following Hutchins’ death at the age of 42 when the beloved cameraman’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit in February of this year. The goods have been accounted for rust‘s producers – including Baldwin – in October, with Matt Hutchins coming aboard the film as an executive producer. Filming with the original cast is expected to resume in January.

Liz Garbus, Dan Cogan, Jon Bardin, Mala Chapple and Kate Barry will produce the Halyna Hutchins documentary for Story Syndicate, with UTA Independent Film Group handling global sales.

“Halyna was making a lasting impression on film. As a filmmaker, I wanted to make films with her. I never thought I would be doing a movie about her,” Mason told Deadline. “The world has lost a great artist, but I have lost a friend. It hurts me very much that her artistic talent was immediately overshadowed by the circumstances of her death. This film gives us the opportunity to share her humanity and talent with the world and experience the journey of her employees as they work to complete their latest creative work. Halyna was destined for greatness and she still is.

“Halyna and I worked in the same industry and shared a passion for storytelling, but what bonded us as friends was motherhood,” added Metz. “Our families have become incredibly close over the years, and when the unthinkable happened, I knew I had to pay tribute to Halyna by telling her incredible story as fully as possible. Rachel and I are delighted to be working with Story Syndicate to bring this vision to life and we are honored that Matt Hutchins has entrusted us with her story.”

Mason is a Los Angeles-based filmmaker with a background in visual art and music who received an Emmy nomination for her Netflix original documentary circus of books, in which she describes growing up as a child of pornographers in the middle of the gay community. Produced by Ryan Murphy, the film debuted on the streamer in 2020 after its world premiere at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival.

Story Syndicate was founded in 2019 by Garbus and Cogan, who together won an Oscar and three Emmys. Story Syndicate is a New York-based film and television production company that focuses on quality nonfiction and written content. Recently released projects include the three-part documentaries Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga (Netflix); the documentary series Killing for the marathon (ABC/Hulu) investigates a connection between the Boston Marathon bombing and an unsolved triple homicide years ago; In the future Become Cousteau (Nat Geo) about the life of the legendary underwater explorer; the three-part series nuclear family (HBO) tells the story of a first-generation lesbian family’s struggle to stay together; the explosives Britney to Spears (Netflix), which explores the story of Britney’s public and private fight for freedom; and the five-part series Children of the subway (FX/Hulu) tells the story of a controversial vigilante group dedicated to helping alleged abuse survivors where others have failed. Story Syndicate’s other past projects include I will disappear into the dark (HBO), The Innocence Files (netflix), All-in: the struggle for democracy (Amazon), Mayor Peter (Amazon) and mouth (Nat Geo).

Story Syndicate’s other upcoming projects include the DOC NYC graduation film The conspiracy, investigating myths that have plagued the Jewish people for centuries; the film directed by Christy Wegener I’m Vanessa Guillen, premiering on Netflix November 17; and the dual function Number one on the call list (Apple) tells the stories of black actors and actresses in Hollywood with producers Jamie Foxx, Kevin Hart, Angela Bassett and Halle Berry.

Stories syndicate is represented by UTA; Mason of UTA and Echo Lake Entertainment.