Brent Renaud

Brent Anthony Renaud (October 2, 1971 – March 13, 2022) was an American journalist, documentary filmmaker, and photojournalist. Renaud worked with his brother Craig to produce films for outlets such as HBO and Vice News, and was a former contributor to The New York Times. According to Ukrainian officials, he was killed on March 13, 2022, by Russian soldiers while covering the Russian invasion of Ukraine in Irpin, a city near Kyiv.

Life and career Renaud was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas.

He lived and worked in Little Rock and New York City. In collaboration with his brother Craig, Brent Renaud produced a series of films and television programs, mostly focusing on humanistic stories from the world's hot spots.

The brothers also covered the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the political crises in Egypt and Libya, conflicts in Africa, Mexican drug war, and the refugee crisis in Central America. The brothers directed the documentary Meth Storm, released in 2017 by HBO Documentary Films. In 2019, Renaud was appointed a visiting professor at the University of Arkansas. Renaud was a 2019 Nieman Fellow. They also founded the Little Rock Film Festival. Co-producer for the documentary series Life of Crime: 1984–2020, which was also nominated for a Peabody Award in 2021.

Renaud was diagnosed as autistic as an adult.

Death According to Ukrainian officials, Renaud was shot and killed by Russian soldiers in Irpin, Kyiv Oblast, Ukraine, while covering the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. Two other journalists were injured and taken to a hospital. One of them, , later said in a video published by an Italian journalist on Twitter that the journalists were filming civilians evacuating over one of the bridges in Irpin when they were targeted by soldiers who shot Renaud in the neck. It was available for streaming in October 2025 on HBO Max.

Filmography

2009: Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing, documentary film, directed by Brent and Craig Renaud 2004: Off to War, series 2005: Dope Sick Love, documentary film, directed by Felicia Conte, Brent Renaud, and Craig Renaud 2007: Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later, documentary film 2011: Surviving Haiti's Earthquake: Children 2013: Arming the Mexican Cartels 2015: Last Chance High, series 2017: Meth Storm 2018: Shelter, documentary film 2025: Armed Only with a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, documentary film