When I was 20 years old, I had a cardiac arrest.

“I don't say that for sympathy. I say it because it's the reason I do this work.

Something shifts in you when you come that close to losing everything. The ordinary things stop feeling ordinary. Light through trees. The expression on someone's face when they talk about something they love. The energy in a room full of people who believe in the same thing. I started seeing all of it differently - and I haven't stopped since.

That experience sent me from Ireland to Australia, out of construction, and back to the thing that had always felt most alive to me: telling stories through a lens.

I've been making films for over a decade. I've travelled to Cambodia to document a charity changing lives in rural villages. I've been on the ground at Burning Man. I've captured festivals, retreats, brands, and communities across Australia and New Zealand - and I've brought the same thing to every single one of them.

Full presence. Real curiosity. And an edit that makes people feel something.

I founded Life Captured because I wanted to work with people who are all in on something - founders, creators, organisations doing work that matters. People who've taken a risk on something they believe in. I understand that energy because I've lived it.

Now I'm based in Wānaka - one of the most beautiful places on earth - and I'm building something here. A business, a body of work, and a life that's fully captured.

I work with purpose-driven businesses, adventure brands, festivals, retreats, and organisations who are ready to tell their story properly.

Not a highlight reel. Not a corporate talking head. A real film - the kind that makes someone feel why what you're doing matters.

If that sounds like what you've been looking for, let's talk.”

Sean Newens

Director

Life Captured