Safe Sets: An Eye-Opening Documentary on Hollywood's Hidden Dangers

Safety should always be guaranteed.

Safe Sets is a 2024 documentary by Paul Heinzelmann, a medical doctor who examines the often-overlooked tragedies of stunt performers in the film industry. Through interviews and archival footage, Heinzelmann indicates how industries can make movie sets safer for all.

I was aware of incidents on Hollywood sets, but Paul Heinzelman’s Safe Sets documentary shed new light on the unsettling stories that have happened. As a vital media outlet, Safe Sets gives stunt performers and crew members the recognition they deserve.

Paul Heinzelmann is a medical doctor who started working on the Safe Sets documentary in late 2018. Heinzelmann wanted to take a deeper into the health and safety risks unique to the film industry. The documentary has changed substantially as new incidents occurred and altered the original course material.

“We had a broad range of health and safety topics to consider in this film,” Heinzelmann noted. “We also decided on topics where we could highlight a specific individual's story that illustrates the danger of that topic.”

Safe Sets examines a variety of incidents on movie sets, including Rust, Midnight Rider, and Deadpool 2. On the set of Deadpool 2, stuntwoman, Joi Harris was killed in a motorcycle accident due to safety failures. I remember watching the Rust shooting incident all over the news when it happened in October 2021. A real bullet was placed into a prop gun, accidentally killing Halyna Hutchins, a cinematographer, and injuring director Joel Souza.

Heinzelmann was moved by the Rust incident, stating, “The tragic death of Halyna Hutchins on the set of Rust changed our course and we decided, instead, to make a feature-length documentary instead of a purely educational series.” In my opinion, Safe Sets works better as a documentary than as a series.

A lot of voices came together for this documentary. The film features interviews with crew members from various departments who share their firsthand experiences with on-set injuries and near-misses. Actor Jon Hamm also appears with his input on the industry, agreeing that movie sets need safer protocols.

The filmmakers aimed to create a captivating story with interviews, behind-the-scenes footage, and data from medical and industry journals. To ensure they were allowed to use clips, Heinzelmann and his team worked with archival producer Rob Garver, who obtained footage from multiple outlets, like police body cameras, court proceedings, and other hard-to-get video and audio. They also hired a top-tier law firm for the defense of the usage of footage in their documentary.

I watched this documentary at the New Hampshire Film Festival in Portsmouth, New Hampshire where it won the audience choice award. An audience member exclaimed, ‘Wow’ during the screening at the unbelievable and disturbing stories that have transpired in Hollywood. The footage that shocked me the most was filmmakers on Midnight Rider yanking equipment off a train trestle with an oncoming train barreling toward them. Just because these events have occurred behind the scenes doesn’t mean they should be forgotten.

One element I am grateful that this documentary recognizes is the impact of mental health. Mental health is a serious matter and we cannot take advantage of it, especially on movie sets. The entertainment industry requires hours of attention to detail on their projects. Overworked crew members labor for more than they should and have no time for rest, leading to sleep deprivation and fatal accidents.

As the tagline says, people are risking their lives and mental health to bring movies to audiences. We cannot forget about these events that have transpired on movie sets. Tragedies could have been avoided if sets were more organized and made efforts to make working conditions safer. Movie sets need to be a safer place for imagination so the entertainment industry can keep bringing new stories to audiences.

Stunt coordinators deserve high recognition for their incredible contributions. It’s unbelievable that the Academy Awards still have yet to recognize a category for stunt performances! Stunt performers often risk their lives to bring the director’s vision to life.

Ever since I became an entertainment reviewer, I have paid more attention to recognizing these roles. Not just stunt people, but this goes for everyone who works behind the scenes: You matter. Without special effects, editors, and sound - ANYBODY, you can’t otherwise make filmmaking possible. Films would be lost without all your tremendous work. Actors are often recognized more often than writers or crew and it’s time to fully recognize the hard work that goes into filmmaking.

Paul Heinzelmann’s Safe Sets recognizes stunt people and anyone who works behind the scenes in Hollywood. He gives them the credit that they deserve. “My hope for this documentary is that it stands out by educating, informing, and shedding light on the immense risks and hazards taken on by the people who work to create and entertain the rest of us.”

Safe Sets is a powerful and thought-provoking look at an important issue. This documentary is sure to spark much-needed conversations about how to make the film industry a safer place for all who work in it.