Rutenbeck directed Losing Ground (1988), a psychological portrait of an Iowa family facing the loss of their small farm. Losing Ground screened at Cinema du Reel and Museum of Modern Art. Rutenbeck directed Raise the Dead (1998), a documentary examining itinerant holiness preachers in the Appalachian region. Raise the Dead premiered at Cinema du Reel in 1999. He directed Scenes from a Parish (2009), which chronicled tensions within a diverse Catholic parish in a former mill town in Massachusetts. Scenes from a Parish was broadcast on the PBS series
Independent Lens. In 2016, he executive produced, directed and edited Class of '27, a three short film anthology about young children in three low-income rural American communities. Class of '27 was an Editor's Pick at The Atlantic and winner of the Alfred I. duPont Columbia University Award. Rutenbeck has edited films for independent filmmakers and the PBS series American Experience, including Roberto Clemente, Jimmy Carter,
Zoot Suit Riots and God in America. He produced an episode of the PBS series on the social determinants of health, Unnatural Causes: Is Inequality Making Us Sick? In 2021, Rutenbeck released A Reckoning in Boston, a feature-length documentary that originated as a portrait of students in the Clemente Course in the Humanities but turned into a broader examination of systemic racism, gentrification, and class inequity in Boston. The film incorporates first-person narration by Rutenbeck and storytelling with its subjects. The film premiered as part of PBS's "Independent Lens" series. He edited the Emmy® Award-winning My Disability Roadmap and The Ride Ahead, with directors Samuel and Dan Habib. In 2023, he directed and produced Nixon Reversal, a documentary examining the political transformation of Richard Nixon. The film was nominated for a national Emmy Award and received The Motion Awards. In March 2023, Rutenbeck started working on a hybrid feature film with artist, writer and actor Harmon dot aut. == Awards and recognition ==