Brent_Renaud

Brent Renaud

Brent Renaud

American journalist and filmmaker (1971–2022)

Brent Anthony Renaud (October 2, 1971[1] – 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 city near Kyiv.

Quick Facts Born, Died ...

Life and career

Renaud was born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Little Rock, Arkansas.[1] His mother, Georgann Freasier, was a social worker, and his father, Louis Renaud, was a salesman.[1] Renaud earned his bachelor's degree in English literature from Southern Methodist University and a master's degree in sociology from Columbia University.[1][2][3]

He lived and worked in Little Rock and New York City.[4][5][6] 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.[5] From 2004 to 2005, the Renaud brothers filmed the Discovery Channel series Off to War, which covered Arkansas reservists in the Iraqi conflict and their families.[7][8]

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.[5] They won several awards in television and journalism, including two DuPont-Columbia Awards and a Peabody Award in 2015 for their video series "Last Chance High."[9][10] The brothers directed the documentary Meth Storm, released in 2017 by HBO Documentary Films.[11] In 2019, Renaud was appointed a visiting professor at the University of Arkansas.[12] Renaud was a 2019 Nieman Fellow.[4] Together with his brother, he was a grantee of the Pulitzer Center.[13] They also founded the Little Rock Film Festival.[14] Co-producer for the documentary series Life of Crime: 1984–2020, which was also nominated for a Peabody Award in 2021.

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.[15][16][17] Two other journalists were injured and taken to a hospital. One of them, Juan Arredondo [ca], 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.[18] It was the first reported death of a foreign journalist in the 2022 war in Ukraine.[19]

Filmography

  • Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing, 2009 documentary film directed by Brent and Craig Renaud[20][21]
  • Off to War (series) (2004)
  • Dope Sick Love (2005) documentary film; directed by Felicia Conte, Brent Renaud, and Craig Renaud
  • Little Rock Central: 50 Years Later (2007) documentary film
  • Last Chance High (2015; series)
  • Meth Storm (2017)
  • Shelter (2018) documentary film

References

  1. [1]
    Traub, Alex (March 13, 2022). "Brent Renaud, Crusading Filmmaker, Is Killed at 50". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  2. [2]
    "Brent Renaud, journalist killed in Ukraine, was a SMU grad who mentored at-risk Dallas youth". Dallas News. March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  3. [3]
    Traub, Alex (March 13, 2022). "Brent Renaud, Crusading Filmmaker, Is Killed at 50". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  4. [4]
    "Brent Renaud Archives". Nieman Reports.
  5. [5]
    "Renaud Brothers: Bio". Renaud Brothers. Archived from the original on March 17, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  6. [6]
    "Brent Renaud 1971 – 2022". DCTV. Retrieved September 30, 2022.
  7. [7]
    Barnhart, Arron (October 22, 2005). "'Off to War' follows reservists, families". The Olympian. p. 24. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  8. [8]
    Rodriquez, Cristina (August 9, 2004). "Brothers' documentary shows soldiers' true experience". The Springfield News-Leader. p. 4. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  9. [9]
    Millar, Lindsey (April 20, 2015). "Renaud brothers win Peabody for 'Last Chance High'".
  10. [10]
    Eifling, Sam (March 16, 2022). "Remembering Brent Renaud, a fearless journalist who focused his camera on vulnerable people around the world". Arkansas Times.
  11. [11]
    Revier, Kevin (February 12, 2018). "Film review: Craig Renaud and Brent Renaud (dirs.), Meth Storm". Crime, Media, Culture. 14 (3): 511–513. doi:10.1177/1741659018756931. S2CID 149296956.
  12. [12]
    "Feature Filmmaker Appointed Visiting Professor". University of Arkansas. September 9, 2019. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  13. [13]
    "Renaud brothers". Pulitzer Center.
  14. [14]
    "Founders call Little Rock Film Festival a wrap after 9 years". Arkansas Democrat Gazette. October 1, 2015. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  15. [15]
    Woodward, Alex; Harding, David (March 13, 2022). "Award-winning US filmmaker Brent Renaud killed by Russian forces in Ukraine". The Independent.
  16. [16]
    Schwirtz, Michael (March 13, 2022). "Brent Renaud, an American journalist, is killed in Ukraine". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  17. [17]
    "U.S. 'Horrified' At Killing Of American Journalist Near Kyiv". RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty. Retrieved March 15, 2022.
  18. [18]
    "'They started shooting at us' – US journalist's colleague". BBC News. March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  19. [19]
    "US journalist killed near Kyiv". BBC News. March 13, 2022. Retrieved March 13, 2022.
  20. [20]
    Warrior Champions Archived October 6, 2011, at the Wayback Machine, Austin Film Festival
  21. [21]
    "Stockton to host screening of 'Warrior Champions: From Baghdad to Beijing'". NJ.com. October 2011.
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