Kristi Kates - Mix It Up - Chicago - Vox Populi Film Fest

Just off the shores of beautiful Lake Michigan this past weekend was the first annual Vox Populi Film Festival at the Arts Center, the brainchild of indie filmmaker/USC film student Emily Manthei. Attendance at the event was higher than expected, and the top winners were a mix of reliable faves and new upstarts, with winners voted on by fest attendees (hence "Vox Populi" - or "voice of the people" - get it?) Yeah, yeah - that's nice - so why are we talking up a film fest in a music column? Well, because in addition to Best Feature Length Film and Best Short Subject, Vox Populi also showcased the much-anticipated Music Video category, in which the top winners were modern rock singer-songwriter Kristi Kates, who won Best of Show in the Music Video category for the lo-fi visuals and wintery coolness of her "All These Days" vid, and Chicago's own quirky singer Nellie (no, not the "Hot in Herrre" Nelly, kids, the other one) who got an honorable mention for her "Underwear and Socks" clip. An interpretative video (unofficial, of course) for the U2 song "New York" also won honorable mention nods. And, since films/vids were shown all day from 12 noon to midnight, festival organizers even scheduled a break for bleary-eyed film watchers - namely, a nifty intermission open mic show featuring Trevor Doublestein and a snack bar. Now let's just hope that Vox Populi is this good next year, too.