Renaud Brothers
Brent Renaud in Libya.
The film begins with Brent Renaud, camera in hand, crossing a river in 2015 while interviewing a young teenager fleeing violence in his home in Guatemala. The next scene is seven years later when Renaud would travel to Ukraine to cover the Russian invasion in 2022. By the sixth minute of the thirty-seven minute independent documentary, we learn that Renaud was killed on March 13 in an ambush by Russian troops. Of the nearly thirty media workers killed to date in the current war in Ukraine, Renaud was the only U.S. national.
Armed Only With A Camera: The Life and Death of Brent Renaud is a loving portrait of a dedicated journalist produced in large part through the efforts of Brent’s brother Craig. It uses almost exclusively footage shot by the two of them and colleague Juan Arredondo, who was also wounded in the attack where Brent was killed.
I had the honor of attending a screening of the film in New York City on February 24, the fourth anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine. Craig Renaud was there and spoke to the audience, and afterward our group attended a dinner with Craig and Juan (who had just flown back from a reporting trip in Colombia).
At the film screening, when asked how he decided to make this film, Craig told the audience: “When I got that phone call from Juan [telling him of Brent’s death], it was very instinctive. I knew that’s what Brent wanted me to do, and it is what I felt I needed to do . . . . You just put your head down and do the work. And I felt if this film could have an impact, then Brent’s life would not be in vain. And all the other journalists that have been killed, their lives would not be in vain, and that this was the time to step up as journalists are being killed more and more.”
The documentary chronicles Brent’s life and evolution as a filmmaker, beginning with his early years with Jon Alpert of Downtown Community Television (DCTV) in an old firehouse in New York City. Alpert is also an executive producer of the film and is seen in the documentary as one of a series of friends and colleagues speaking at Brent’s memorial service in his hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. The film’s title is echoed in Alpert’s words from the podium.
Using a combination of stories from the memorial service, archival news footage, and Brent’s own reporting, the skilled and dedicated storytelling he sought to create is showcased in detail. Reporting from Afghanistan, Iraq, Guatemala, Honduras, and the inner city neighborhoods of Chicago struggling with the aftermath of gun violence are all depicted. The film includes frank discussions of Brent’s autism, and does not hold back in showing the reality of what war does to human beings, including to Brent himself, who is shown shortly after his death. “It is what Brent would [have] done,” Craig explains as he continues to film his late brother’s body before the casket is closed.
This movie is not just a loving tribute to a kind, gentle, and caring brother, it is also a lesson to us all about what journalism should be. From the very start, Brent’s commitment was to tell the stories of the people on whom he was reporting—to share their lives and their reality with the world. Asking simple questions and then standing back and letting his subjects speak for themselves allowed Brent to capture on camera the reality of the everyday people affected by the wars and bombs sent by far-away policymakers.
The closing scenes of Armed Only With A Camera include a series of images of Brent and other reporters who have been killed for simply doing their jobs. The closing credits begin with a few lines of text that read: “Since Brent’s death, more than 100 journalists have been killed every year. Journalism has become one of the world’s most dangerous professions.”
A new report, released February 25 by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), indicates that number has now climbed higher, reaching 129 for the year 2025. In announcing the finding, CPJ’s CEO Jodie Ginsberg said, “Journalists are being killed in record numbers at a time when access to information is more important than ever. Attacks on the media are a leading indicator of attacks on other freedoms, and much more needs to be done to prevent these killings and punish the perpetrators. We are all at risk when journalists are killed for reporting the news.”
Armed With Only A Camera is nominated for an Academy Award in the category of “Documentary Short Film,” and can be viewed on the HBO streaming service. Craig Renaud and his family have also established The Brent Renaud Foundation to continue Brent’s legacy of mentoring aspiring filmmakers.