Staying (2026)
Staying follows one woman’s passage through suicidal ideation, despair, and the long climb back toward herself, unraveling the shame, silence, and hidden wounds she once believed made her unworthy of light. Through intimate reflection and unflinching honesty, it traces the fragile thread of survival—illuminated by small acts of grace and the extraordinary people who helped stitch her back together. What emerges is both a personal reckoning and a universal offering: a hand extended through the darkness to anyone who feels unseen, too heavy, or too far gone. In transforming vulnerability into connection, the film becomes a quiet beacon—a reminder that even in our most private suffering, we are never truly alone.
Through a series of short vignettes, we sought to focus on the three core storytelling elements: Kelly’s past (the poems), the present (the art show) and the future (the move and beyond). The film was shot in chronological order, as the events depicted occured in real time.
“This film traces the thin, fraying thread that pulled me back to myself when I thought I was beyond saving. It bears honest witness to the parts of my story I once hid in silence: the suffering, the shame, the searching, and the small acts of survival and extraordinary souls that helped stitch me back together.”
-Kelly Dawn Noel
About KeLLY
Kelly Dawn Noel is an interdisciplinary artist, storyteller, and creative whose work explores the complex terrain of mental health, survival, and the quiet resilience required to keep living in a difficult world.
Originally from San Diego, Kelly has built a creative practice centered on emotional honesty. Her work spans sculpture, mixed media installation, writing, and film, often confronting subjects that many people are taught to hide—suicidal ideation, trauma, shame, and the internal battles that shape a person’s relationship with themselves.
The short film Staying emerged from Kelly’s own lived experience surviving suicide and learning to exist alongside the darker voices of the mind. For years, she had expressed those struggles through visual art, but filmmaking offered a new way to translate the emotional landscape of that experience into something audiences could feel alongside her.
Rather than creating a film that presents recovery as simple or linear, Kelly set out to tell a story that felt honest to the complicated reality of staying alive. The project became an extension of the same themes that run through her larger body of work: confronting internal darkness, dismantling shame, and opening space for conversations that many people are afraid to have out loud.
Kelly’s creative work frequently invites viewers into deeply personal territory, not as spectators but as participants in a shared human experience. Her exhibitions and projects are known for their emotional intensity and vulnerability, encouraging audiences to reflect on their own internal struggles and recognize that they are not alone.
Staying represents Kelly’s first major step into filmmaking, expanding her artistic practice into a medium that allows her to combine visual storytelling, emotional narrative, and personal testimony.
ABOUT BRENDAN
Brendan Cleak is an award-winning independent filmmaker based in San Diego, California. His films explore various aspects of the human condition, often utilizing unconventional and innovative camera and narrative techniques to bring the stories to life.
In 2018 he co-founded One Apparatus Productions, a boutique film studio born from the idea that the human eye interface becomes part of the camera itself, informed by our most human traits: empathy, critical thought and a willingness to love unconditionally.
One Apparatus is designed to support small scale independent productions, specializing in naturalistic documentaries, experimental filmmaking, and films that are unafraid to challenge conventional narrative structures.
CRAFTING AN ORIGINAL SOUNDTRACK WITH GRAFFICK
Blaine Counter (Graffick) is an independent musician and composer whose work blends cinematic electronic production with immersive sound design. Originally from San Francisco and now based in Portland, he began his journey in music at a young age, teaching himself recording, composition, and synthesis through early experimentation on a computer.
After surviving a near-fatal accident in 2015, Blaine deepened his commitment to music as a form of storytelling—channeling his experiences into emotionally resonant and sonically detailed compositions. His work explores atmosphere, movement, and contrast, making it a natural fit for film and visual media.
Through his project Graffick, he continues to create forward-thinking electronic music that brings depth and narrative to the screen.
CONTACT
PRESS / MEDIA / brendan@oneapparatus.com