Weber State grad takes first place in international competition for music video
-
- A headshot of filmmaker and Weber State University alum Chloe Kinnavongsa.
-
- An undated photo of Chloe Kinnavongsa during a production.
OGDEN — Teaming up with a group of talented friends to help create a memorable music video with interesting visuals is a very good thing to do when you’re a student filmmaker.
Going through that experience and later winning an award in an international competition — particularly, one that you didn’t even know you were up for — may be even better.
Such was the experience of Clearfield native and Weber State University alum Chloe Kinnavongsa, who served as director of photography on the music video for the Peanut Butter Party track, “The Necklace Song.” Kinnavongsa, along with WSU classmate, friend and director David Guerrero, won first place in the Music Video category at the Broadcast Education Association’s 2025 Festival of Media Arts.
“One of my friends called me and was like, ‘Hey, you just won an award,’ and I was like, ‘What award?’ I was so confused. He goes, ‘Your music video?'” Kinnavongsa said.
Unbeknownst to her, the video had been submitted to the BEA festival, and its recognition as the best in its category provided a powerful moment of validation.
“It was honestly one of the first very real emotional moments I had,” Kinnavongsa said. “I had to pull over to the side of the road because I just started crying. … I think it was the Michaels art store off of Riverdale, and I just sat in that moment and I was so happy. It was the first moment that I was like, you know, I am made to do filmmaking.”
According to Kinnavongsa, the video was shot locally in Roy, Riverdale and at the North Ogden Divide over the course of a single evening, and it was buoyed, she said, by the music, Guerrero’s vision and those locations.
“Honestly, I am very fortunate to live in Utah with one of the most beautiful landscapes ever,” Kinnavongsa said. “I like to say that Ogden is my favorite place to film because you can go anywhere and it’s just a beautiful canyon or beautiful lake.”
Kinnavongsa traveled to Las Vegas in the spring to attend the National Association of Broadcasters conference, and was one of 14 WSU film students to attend the NAB and BEA shows. After officially receiving their award, she and Guerrero participated in a panel with other winners, something she described as a “surreal moment.”
The out-of-body experience notwithstanding, that opportunity to meet other filmmakers and exchange ideas was a highlight for Kinnavongsa.
“I just felt very connected to the people who creatively want to make art,” she said. “So, I met a bunch of people, I networked, and it was just so fun seeing other passionate people … and also seeing people with different talents and showcasing that; getting to see their work and talk to them about it.”
Other WSU honorees include Dusty Bessire, who won second place in the Short Narrative Film category for “Quiet, Arlo.” Meanwhile, Peter Visser received an Award of Excellence for his screenplay, “No Father of Mine” and Bessire, Zander Cooper and Ashlynn Maughan also netted an Award of Excellence for their short film, “Limelight.”
Kinnavongsa graduated from WSU in April, after which she decided to take a creative sabbatical. Now, she’s in the midst of writing a new short film and intends to stay busy with other personal and client film projects. In the fall, she’s slated to travel to the Philippines with her mentor, WSU professor Andrea Baltazar, for a documentary project.
Looking back, though, she’s grateful for her film school experience and the fellow creatives she found, including professors like Baltazar and Aaron Atkins, along the way.
“I always like to joke that, with my friends now, I paid $30,000 to be friends with them,” Kinnavongsa said. “But it’s priceless for the connections that I’ve built.”
The music video for Peanut Butter Party’s “The Necklace Song” can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Sk-35IPe8WA/.
