Mr. Renaud’s final assignment was documenting refugees fleeing across bridges in Irpin, Ukraine.
When Brent Renaud, an award-winning American filmmaker and journalist, was killed in Ukraine on Sunday, he was there to do what he had done throughout his career: bear witness to the world’s most dangerous stories. At the time of his death Mr. Renaud was on assignment for Time Studios working on a “project focused on the global refugee crisis,” according to a statement from Time executives. Through his extensive film catalog, Mr. Renaud highlighted the human impact of war and conflict, said Vivian Schiller, who commissioned Mr. Renaud’s 2004 documentary series about the Iraq war for The New York Times and Discovery Channel. “He was just a filmmaker with tremendous heart,” Ms. Schiller said on Sunday. “It really sort of pervaded all of his work.” Mr. Renaud,50, often collaborated with his brother, Craig, to produce film and television projects for The Times, HBO, NBC, Vice Media and other companies. He filmed in conflict zones and risky areas, including parts of Afghanistan, Haiti, Iraq, Mexico and Ukraine. One of his earliest projects was “Off to War,” an intimate 2004 documentary series he created with his brother.
