Focus Features Promotes Kiska Higgs To President Of Production & Acquisitions

Anthony D'Alessandro

February 4, 2021, 4:30 PM·2 min read

Focus Features has elevated Kiska Higgs to President of Production and Acquisitions.

In her new post, she will oversee the studio’s films and team across development, production and acquisitions for the classic label’s domestic and foreign slate. Higgs will continue to work from the Focus Features headquarters in Los Angeles.

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She recently served as EVP of Production & Acquisitions and is a 15-year vet of Universal, having been a production executive in the Los Angles and London offices before transitioning to Focus in 2016.

At Focus she has been involved in such pick-ups as Emerald Fennell’s Promising Young Woman, which recently picked up four Golden Globe nominations including Best Drama Feature, Director, Actress Drama Carey Mulligan and screenplay. Other projects include Robin Wright’s Land which debuted at Sundance, Carnival Films and Julian Fellowes’ Downton Abbey and Working Title and Edgar Wright’s upcoming Last Night In Soho. Higgs has also been key in shepherding documentaries onto the slate such as Morgan Neville’s Won’t You Be My Neighbor? and Dawn Porter’s The Way I See It.

Says Focus Features chairman Peter Kujawski, “I’ve had the good fortune of working with Kiska for ten years, during which time her great taste, strong relationships, and insights into the marketplace and the culture have been a not-so-secret weapon for Universal and then Focus. We are extremely fortunate to now have her leading our creative team where she will grow our slate in scope, breadth, and ambition in ways that all of us at Focus are excited to be a part of.”

“Over the past five years, it’s been a privilege to continue building Focus into a home for filmmakers at NBCUniversal, a company I’ve called my own home for more than fifteen years,” said Higgs. “I’m thrilled to lead our creative team at a studio so uniquely dedicated to the global impact and power of storytelling through specialty film.”

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