Kelly Dawn Noel's short film Staying heads to Wild Rivers Film Festival

The short documentary Staying will premiere at the 2026 Wild Rivers Film Festival in Brookings, Oregon, with three public screenings August 14-16. The film follows Kelly Dawn Noel’s recovery from suicidal ideation and aims to open a more direct conversation about mental health and survival.

Why it matters: - Staying turns a deeply personal mental health story into a public festival release, reaching viewers outside a private art or therapy setting. - The film centers survival, shame and recovery, which gives the project relevance for audiences navigating similar struggles. - The documentary also adds to a growing slate of festival films that use intimate storytelling to address mental health with less polish and more directness.

What happened: - Staying, a short documentary by director Brendan Cleak and multimedia artist Kelly Dawn Noel, is set for its festival premiere at the Wild Rivers Film Festival in Brookings, Oregon. - The film’s first public showings are scheduled for Friday, August 14 at 2:00 PM; Saturday, August 15 at 4:00 PM; and Sunday, August 16 at 12:00 PM. - All three screenings will take place at the Chetco Playhouse in Brookings. - The project is being released on the 2026-2027 festival circuit.

The details: - The film follows Kelly Dawn Noel’s passage through suicidal ideation, despair and the long recovery back to herself. - The story examines shame, silence and hidden wounds from Noel’s past. - The film is described as a personal reckoning and an appeal to people who feel unseen, too heavy or too far gone. - Brendan Cleak previously directed Motherthief (2023) and It Was All A Dream (2021). - Staying uses unconventional and innovative narrative techniques to present the story. - Graffick, a Portland-based independent musician and composer, created the soundtrack. - Graffick’s score blends cinematic electronic production with colorful sound design. - The soundtrack was inspired by the people who supported Noel during her darkest moments and by the voice she now uses to support others. - Noel said creating through drawing, sculpting, writing and filming helped keep her connected to the world when her mind was at its darkest. - Cleak said the film aims to move past surface-level conversations about mental health and into something more honest, raw and visually immersive. - Noel said she hopes the film reaches people who feel invisible or unworthy and reminds them they are not alone. - One Apparatus Productions is behind the release. - The source includes social media links for Brendan Cleak on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook and YouTube.

Between the lines: - The film’s positioning suggests a strategy built around emotional honesty rather than traditional documentary distance. - By pairing festival screenings with a mental health narrative, the filmmakers are aiming for both artistic recognition and personal resonance. - The repeated emphasis on vulnerability and connection signals that Staying is designed as both an artwork and a message of solidarity.

What's next: - The Wild Rivers Film Festival screenings will introduce Staying to its first public audience. - Additional festival appearances may follow as the film moves through the 2026-2027 circuit. - The film’s broader reach will likely depend on how strongly it connects with festival viewers and programmers.

The bottom line: - Staying arrives as a short documentary built to turn private pain into shared recognition, with its first test coming at Wild Rivers Film Festival.