It’s a journalist’s role to stay behind the scenes. But sometimes, a reporter’s extraordinary life becomes the story itself.
Such is the case with Brent Renaud, an award-winning documentary film-maker who was the first American journalist killed, at the age of 51, in the Russia-Ukraine war. His life and death are captured in a new, intimate documentary that debuted in Los Angeles at the 21st annual HollyShorts film festival earlier this month.
The film, entitled Armed Only With a Camera, is directed by Craig Renaud, Brent’s younger brother, who worked alongside him for more than 20 years, and produced by the photojournalist Juan Arredondo, who was there on the day Brent died. It explores Brent’s time as a journalist and documentarian reporting worldwide from places such as the US-Mexico border, Haiti and Ukraine, relying heavily on the footage Brent filmed during their travels. The brothers’ work has won a multitude of awards including an Emmy, a Peabody, two duPont–Columbia awards, two Overseas Press Club awards, an International Documentary Association (IDA) award, a Webby and an Edward R Murrow award.
After setting out to follow a family in Ukraine for an independent film the brothers were producing, Brent and Arredondo were gunned down by Russian soldiers on 13 March 2022. Arredondo was heavily wounded; Brent was shot in the neck and did not survive. “According to the driver, [the ambush] wasn’t more than five minutes,” said Arredondo. “But for me, it just felt an eternity.”
The film captures harrowing scenes from that day, filmed by Brent in his last moments. The events following the attack were filmed by Craig and Christof Putzel, a producer of the film and trusted colleague who worked alongside the Renaud brothers in many conflict zones over the years. Arredondo, despite his injuries, was determined to give an accurate account of what happened to his friend.
“The bullet came through, entered the body, and at that point, I started fainting, because I was profusely losing blood. I kept telling people: ‘Where’s my friend? He’s back. Please go get him,”’ Arredondo said. “And when I finally came to my senses, the first thing was I needed to call Craig. I made a purpose in my mind to be as accurate as possible, because I wasn’t sure if I was going to survive.”
Craig left the United States shortly after to retrieve Brent’s body and his final recordings from Ukraine, and bring them to his home town in Arkansas. “I remember packing to leave for Ukraine frantically,” he said. “And I remember looking over at my camera. I could hear Brent so clearly: ‘Of course you’re taking your camera.’”
Craig wanted to make sure he captured his brother’s story in its entirety. Brent’s life work is showcased throughout the documentary, including clips that often capture the stories of civilians caught in the crossfire. Archival footage of Brent and his family as he grew up give the audience a glimpse into who he was in front of the camera, not just behind it.
The decision to turn Brent’s story into a documentary was an easy one for Craig, he said: “We spent our entire career, over 20 years, documenting other people caught in these wars. Why would it be any different when it’s my family member or my brother being killed? It was an instinctual thing.”
In addition to Brent’s story, the film highlights the growing risks that journalists face around the world during what the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) has called the deadliest time to tell the truth. The committee has reported that 15 other journalists died in the Russia-Ukraine war from 2022 to 2023. CPJ has also reported that at least 124 journalists were killed in 2024 – the majority of them in Gaza – surpassing the previous record of 113 journalists killed in 2007, when almost 50% of casualties were attributed to the Iraq war.
Brent’s dedication to the craft of journalism continued until his final breath, said Craig: “When Brent died, I was at peace with his death immediately. There was no part of me that felt like this isn’t how Brent was supposed to die. You know, he was the most dedicated journalist I’ve ever known. That being the end to Brent is poetic.”
Craig and his family have started the Brent Renaud Foundation, which aims to continue Brent’s legacy by mentoring youth on the arts of storytelling and cinema, as well as training the next generation of journalists for the difficult work that lies ahead of them. “Without journalism, there is no democracy. I hope people, when they see this film, really think about where we are as a nation and in the world with journalism,” said Craig.