In the documentary short film Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud, Craig Renaud brings the body of his brother, fellow journalist and filmmaker Brent Renaud, home to Arkansas after he is killed covering the war in Ukraine and explores his lasting legacy.
Awards Buzz spoke with Craig about his brother having a directing credit on the film and how his voice shines through in the finished product. He shared when he feels the film started and what it means:
“The film started on March 13th, 2022, the day that my brother was killed in Ukraine. He was ambushed by Russian soldiers, and he became the first American journalist to be killed in that conflict. Our colleague and producer on this film, Juan Arredondo, barely survived that attack with his life. Pretty much immediately after that happened, I decided I wanted to make this film to honor my brother and also all the fallen journalists that have risked their lives to capture the truth. My brother and I had covered conflicts together for over twenty years, and we had had a lot of conversations about what we would do if one of us were killed, and so I knew instantly when Brent was killed that I needed to keep filming. That was something we promised to each other, and my brother being killed was a war crime. He was a journalist, he was targeted. I knew it was important not only to pay tribute to him but to document what had happened to him for the world to see. That was something that my family and I discussed and Juan and I discussed and HBO and we just all decided that we did not want to shy away from the graphic nature of his death. Since my brother has been killed, every single year, there have been over one hundred journalists killed. There’s now been over four hundred journalists killed around the world since my brother’s death, and, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists, it’s the most dangerous time on record to be a journalist. This film is meant to be a tribute to my brother, but it’s also really intended to draw attention to the perilous times that we face as journalists right now.”
Watch the video above to hear what resources and organizations he recommends following and supporting to continue to protect the critical work of journalists.
Armed Only With a Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud is an Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Short and is available to stream on HBO Max.
