Hundreds gathered at Albuquerque Civic Plaza on Saturday evening for a candlelight vigil in remembrance of Halyna Hutchins, the beloved cinematographer, who died on Thursday following an accident on the set of Alec Baldwin-starrer ‘Rust’.
The first vigil was held on Saturday evening from 6 pm to 7:30 pm at the Albuquerque Civic Plaza in Albuquerque, New Mexico, while a second will take place on Sunday from 6 pm to 7:30 pm at the IATSE Local 80 headquarters in Burbank, CA, reported Deadline.
Among the speakers during the first vigil was International Cinematographers Guild President John Lindley, who said that while he’d never met Halyna, he’s developed “a fair picture” of who she was in the days since her passing, given all he’s read, and heard from those who knew her.
“She was a mother, a wife, and an accomplished cinematographer. She was beloved, talented, respected and loving. She was also passionate about her work, and that’s really who all of you are. She was one of us,” Lindley told the crowd.
Lindley also acknowledged that grief can quickly turn to anger in the aftermath of a tragic loss, cautioning union members at the same time to “hold off on the anger for now and support Halyna’s family during this time.”
He also recited the poem ‘Death is Nothing At All’ by Henry Scott-Holland.
The second speaker up was IATSE Local 480 President Liz Pecos, who paid tribute to Hutchins with a reading of Margaret Read’s poem ‘Remember Me’, also speaking to the legacy of her “union sister” as “a leader among young female cinematographers.”
The event’s third speaker was IATSE Local 480’s Bryan Evans, who acknowledged that the loss of Hutchins has caused pain, which will be “felt for a very long time.”
The final speaker of the night was a crew member from ‘Rust’ who first met Hutchins around seven weeks ago, quickly coming to know her as a generous, “wonderful woman,” who shared his passion for discussing “the nerdiest stuff,” when it came to filmmaking.
A GoFundMe campaign has also been established for union members and others to donate money to help support Hutchins’ family.
Hutchins died on Thursday following an accident involving a prop gun on the ‘Rust’ set at Bonanza Creek Ranch in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department confirmed on Thursday night that Baldwin “discharged” the weapon that killed her, also injuring director Joel Souza. Investigations into the incident are currently underway. Born in Ukraine, Hutchins lived in Los Angeles and graduated from the American Film Institute in 2015. Hutchins was widely known for her work on ‘Archenemy’ (2020), ‘Darlin’ (2019) and ‘Blindfire’ (2020).
