U.K.-based production house Knucklehead is opening its first U.S. office this month. The Los Angeles shop will be headed by Cathleen Kisich who becomes Knucklehead’s first U.S. executive producer. The stateside launch comes at a time when Knucklehead has already made inroads into the American ad market, working with such agencies as Wieden+Kennedy, Droga5, TBWAChiatDay, McCann, Leo Burnett and Team Detroit.
Kisich began her career as an agency producer before making the jump to executive producer in 2010 when she joined Caviar, representing such notable directors as AG Rojas and Keith Schofield. Kisich also brings along producer Lauren Small to the new Knucklehead U.S. Small previously worked at Partizan, and at Caviar, where she and Kisich met.
Established in 2005 by EP/managing partners Tim Katz and Matthew Brown, Knucklehead has made its creative mark internationally with a body of work that most recently includes: director Siri Bunford’s documentary-style film 1000 Years of Less Ordinary Wisdom for Finlandia Vodka; Charlie Crane’s short film about the life of an expedition doctor in Greenland for IKEA’s “There’s No Bed Like Home” campaign; and director Chris Hewitt’s new emotion-driven ad for Dunlop. Other Knucklehead fare includes a pair of Rob Leggatt-directed campaign films for VO5; William Armstrong’s nighttime “Run More” spot for Adidas; and choreographer-turned-director Holly Blakey’s monochromatic dance performance video for Gwilym Gold’s “Triumph.”
