Kiki is the founder and president of Little Magic Films, where she has recently produced Cutie and the Boxer and 13 SINS.

 

Zachary Heinzerling's Cutie and the Boxer, a 2014 Academy Award Nominee, Winner of the Best Documentary, Emmy Awards had also won Best Director in the US Documentary Competition of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, among many other awards. The candid New York love story, explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed action painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role of “assistant” to her overbearing husband, in life and at work, Noriko seeks an identity of her own.

 

13 SINS, a remake of the Thai psychological thriller 13: Game of Death, tells the story of a man desperate to solve his financial problems prior to his wedding. He receives a mysterious phone call informing him he can win $6.2 million if he completes 13 challenges. The film is directed by The Last Exorcism’s Daniel Stamm and stars Mark Webber (Scott Pilgrim vs the World), Rutina Wesley (True Blood) and Ron Pearlman (Sons of Anarchy). 13 SINS premiered in the US at 2014 SXSW.

 

Prior to producing, Kiki worked as an acquisition executive pre-buying Japanese film rights at the script stage. She has acquired over 50 films including The Pianist, Resident Evil, Memento, Pulp Fiction, Finding Neverland and Once to name a just a few.

 

Kiki started her entertainment career in the music business as a disc jockey for FM Tokyo. Later, moving to New York, she produced the weekly shows Live from the Bottom Line and Live From the Apollo. As a recording contractor, she worked on projects for Jazz luminaries such as Gil Evans, David Sanborn and Sadao Watanabe and was responsible for booking numerous Japanese tours for artists such as Herbie Hancock and Chick Corea.

 

With the arrival of MTV, Kiki shifted her focus to visual media in the music business, producing music videos, concerts, TV specials and commercials for artists such as Keith Richards, Steve Winwood and Sting. She later moved into her film and TV distribution career, which began with the acquisition of David Lynch’s groundbreaking TV series Twin Peaks. The show became an unprecedented commercial success and a nationwide phenomenon in Japan.