Laughs, honors follow Clayton pair

Clayton’s Maxwell Renner and Kyle Metz earned a ticket to the Cannes International Film Festival by winning critical acclaim for their comedic short film “Showdown,” a production they put together while attending San Diego State University.

The two full-time students launched their endeavor while running SDSU’s premier sketch comedy group Party of Dos. They entered their short in the SDSU Campus Movie Festival, the largest student film festival in the world.

Awards abound

Festival rules required the piece to be made in a single week, but Renner and Metz finished their production in one day. “Showdown” earned the two the coveted Jury Award, and Renner also won the prestigious Best Actor award. The film also is up for Best Comedy and Best Actor at the Oscars of Campus Movie Festival and the duo has been invited to the event in Atlanta.

Campus Movie Officials offered Renner and Metz the opportunity to attend the Cannes International Film Festival after catching wind of the movie. The Cannes is the largest professional film festival in the world.

Friends since preschool

Renner and Metz met in preschool and caught the comedy bug together at Drama Mama Productions when they attended middle school. They graduated from the Clayton Arts Academy at Clayton Valley Charter High School. Metz won the school’s Grand Altair award, and Renner received the Maestro Award after touring with Clayton Valley’s Honors Choir in Boston.

They formed Party of Dos at SDSU to work on their own projects when they weren’t cast in college productions.

The duo returns to Clayton later this month to teach an exclusive Improv Comedy Class for teenagers. The three-day course runs from March 29-31 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Clayton Community Church. Students will learn about great comedy improvisation and how it’s harnessed for performance. The class also will explore writing and specifically how to write for film.

The $100 cost will help raise funds for their trip to Cannes and includes a daily lunch. For more information, please send email to melcathryn@gmail.com.

To see their short film or donate to the pair’s Cannes travel fund, please visit https://www.generosity.com/community-fundraising/max-and-kyle-vs-cannes-film-festival