Brent Renaud, a Peabody-winning documentary filmmaker and photographer, has died in Ukraine according to local authorities. He was 50.
Kyiv’s regional police force confirmed that Renaud was killed Sunday in the suburb of Irpin, a site of heavy Russian shelling. He was in the region working on a documentary about the global refugee crisis
Throughout his career, Renaud collaborated with his brother Craig Renaud, "telling humanistic vérité stories from the World’s hot spots".
Their investigations chronicled the challenges and triumphs of some of the most vulnerable people in the world. Their work included coverage from conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the earthquake in Haiti, cartel violence in Mexico and the youth refugee crisis in Central America.
Brent Renaud, pictured at the 74th Peabody Award ceremony in 2015. Source: Getty
The pair won a Peabody Award in 2015 for the Vice News documentary Last Chance High. The 8-part documentary is an in-depth observation of the students and staff at Chicago's Moses Montefiore Academy, a special needs school devoted to turning around the lives of at-risk children with mental health challenges and extreme behavioural issues. Many of the kids have been expelled from other schools and Montefiore presents their last best chance at turning life around. Each episode of the program takes us into the classrooms and homes of both students and staff, to give a voice to the disenfranchised, and shine a light on efforts to pull them back from the brink.
All 8 episodes of Last Chance High are now streaming at SBS On Demand. They will also screen back-to-back on SBS VICELAND in a special marathon tribute screening on Wednesday 16 March from 12pm.
Start with episode 1
