TORUN, Poland (AP) — Alec Baldwin’s Western film Rust premiered at the International Film Festival of the Art of Cinematography Camerimage in Torun, Poland, on Wednesday. The screening was dedicated to Halyna Hutchins, the cinematographer who tragically died on set three years ago.

The premiere began with a moment of silence, and the film played to a packed audience, receiving applause at its conclusion. Baldwin, the film’s lead actor and co-producer, was rehearsing a scene in October 2021 outside Santa Fe, New Mexico, when a revolver he was holding discharged, killing Hutchins and injuring director Joel Souza. Baldwin has claimed that he pulled back the hammer of the gun but did not pull the trigger.

Souza, who introduced the film at the festival, reflected on the emotional toll of continuing the project after the accident. Initially, he could not imagine returning to the set or even working in film again.

“It just hurt too much,” Souza said. However, Hutchins’ husband, Matthew Hutchins, encouraged him to finish the film, even joining as an executive producer.

“He wanted those who knew and loved Halyna to see her final work,” Souza explained. The team’s mission became to preserve and honor every frame Hutchins had worked on.

Rust tells the story of a 13-year-old boy sentenced to hang after accidentally killing a rancher, who then goes on the run with his estranged grandfather, played by Baldwin.

Bianca Cline, the cinematographer who completed the project, noted that Hutchins had already established the film’s visual style and shot more than half of it. To stay true to her vision, Cline studied Hutchins’ detailed notes.

Hutchins, 42, was an emerging talent in cinematography and a mother of a young son. She grew up on a remote Soviet military base, worked on documentary films in Eastern Europe, and studied filmmaking in Los Angeles before embarking on her promising career.

Despite the film’s dedication to Hutchins, her mother, Olga Solovey, publicly criticized Baldwin and declined to attend the premiere. Solovey accused Baldwin of attempting to “unjustly profit” from her daughter’s death and expressed disappointment that he had neither apologized nor taken responsibility.

“It was my hope to meet my daughter in Poland to watch her work come alive on screen,” Solovey said in a statement issued by her lawyer, Gloria Allred.

Rust Movie Productions responded by rejecting the accusations, emphasizing that completing the film was done with the full support of Hutchins’ family. “The Camerimage festival is a celebration of cinematography, not a marketplace for buyers,” the statement read. “The suggestion that profit motivated the completion of Rust is both false and disrespectful.”

Rachel Mason, a filmmaker and close friend of Hutchins, corroborated that Hutchins’ mother had expressed a desire for the film to be completed, given its importance to her daughter. Mason praised the crew for their resilience in finishing the project, calling their efforts “heroic.”

“Rust was meant to transform Halyna’s career, but it ended up taking her life,” Mason said. “I hope the world understands the courage it took to complete this film.”

The film’s production and its aftermath have been fraught with legal and emotional challenges. Baldwin’s involuntary manslaughter charge was dismissed mid-trial after allegations of withheld evidence. However, the film’s armorer, Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, was sentenced to 18 months in jail for recklessly allowing live ammunition on set and failing to adhere to gun safety protocols.

The Camerimage festival itself has faced its share of controversy this year, including director Steve McQueen withdrawing in protest over an editorial by the festival’s founder. Cate Blanchett serves as this year’s jury president.