Kenny Hotz | Kenny vs. Spenny | Comedy Central

Kenneth Joel "Kenny" Hotz is a Canadian filmmaker, actor, producer, director, journalist, photographer and writer.

Hotz made his first film at the age of seven while attending film camp. He has been a photographer since 1986 -- photographing numerous countries and historic world events. His photo essays include Auschwitz, Dachau, Needle Park (Zurich, Switzerland), David Koresh, Mount Carmel, Waco, Texas aftermath, and New Years' in Times Square 2000.

In 1989, Hotz began making documentaries. He also came up with the idea of developing a television show in which he and a friend would compete in a series of challenges to prove who was the best. This idea later evolved into "Kenny Vs. Spenny". In 1991, he traveled to the Middle East to cover the Gulf War. Numerous Canadian institutions including the national and provincial archive have collected his work. He won the best student photo award for his photograph "Life Behind the Mask" in 1992.

Hotz graduated from the Media Arts program at Ryerson Polytechnic Institute (now Ryerson University) in 1992. He then began work on a comedic short film about the life and death of a homeless dwarf in Toronto named Shorty Gordie, which was a winner at the Hot Docs film festival.

In 1997, Hotz co-starred with Spencer Rice in the documentary "Pitch". In 1999, he moved on to Los Angeles to develop television programming. While there, he began development on "Kenny Vs. Spenny" (which was nominated for a Gemini award in 2004 and 2006).

In 2004, Hotz and Rice appeared together on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien". Hotz also finished work on "The Papal Chase", a documentary film chronicling attempts by Hotz (who is Jewish) to meet Pope John Paul II. The film, which features cameos by the Rolling Stones and the Pope, won the acclaimed Phillip Borsos Award for Best Canadian Feature Film and an unprecedented $10,000 cash prize at the 2004 Whistler Film Festival. In 2005, the film also won  More

the People’s Choice Award for Best Canadian Feature at the Canadian Filmmakers Festival and the Audience Award for Best Documentary at the Brooklyn International Film Festival.

Hotz created the concept for "Versusville" -- a 3D video game that accompanies the Kenny vs. Spenny series. The game was nominated for a Canadian New Media Award for "Excellence in Gaming." He also recently wrote/consulted on the animated Emmy-Award winning series "South Park".

As of August 2007, Hotz is in Toronto working on post-production of the fourth season of "Kenny vs. Spenny" for Showcase Television and Comedy Central. He is currently a contributing columnist for Vice Magazine and in 2006 he won the WTF best story award for an article he wrote in the Fiction issue. He is also getting ready to produce, direct, and star in his third feature film. Less