Sean’s stories to battle negative news

For the last five years, 22-year-old Sean Bahr-Kelly has spent his time travelling the Barkly Region in the NT, capturing and sharing the stories of its residents.

As a Tennant Creek local himself, Sean was disheartened by the negative news his town suffered from. It made him want to leave.

“As a teenager, I lived in a burnt-out house for three years. The house was missing so many parts it would get constantly broken into,” Sean said.

“I was ready to move on, go somewhere new and less remote, when I found a mentor and joined Barkly Regional Arts on a media training program.”

After six months of learning video production and multimedia, Sean set out with Media Mob on a new digital postcards project.

He began visiting towns in the region, connecting with people on a personal level and asking them to tell their stories on camera.

“It made me realise that I actually lived someone amazing,” Sean said.

“The people and the towns in my region lifted me up. I started thinking about how the media can give us a negative identity.

“Since these stories were making me feel good about myself and my home, I thought they could do the same for others, so I made them to counteract bad news with positive, personal stories.”

Sean is constantly inspired by the people in his region and plans to train others in media skills so others can create pride through telling stories of strength and resilience.

Watch the video postcards on the Media Mob Vimeo page.

And watch Sean talk passionately about his job and his town on Youtube.