Kitao Sakurai

Kitao Sakurai was born in Kinugasa Japan in 1983 and was raised in Cleveland Ohio. Kitao had an extensive career as a child actor, appearing in films such as Kevin Smith's "Dogma," where he developed a fascination with filmmaking. Three months into his freshmen year at Sarah Lawrence College, Kitao decided to drop out and apprentice with renowned opera and stage director Douglas Fitch, becoming his primary assistant. Kitao helped guide experimental opera productions at the Stockholm Royal Concert House, the Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Tanglewood Music Festival, and other venues. Kitao then shifted his career towards cinematography, collaborating with music video director Edwin Decena to shoot numerous "Dirty South" style rap videos with artists such as T-Pain, Young Jeezy, Akon, Jim Jones, Lil Boosie and more. Kitao then worked with director Ry Russo-Young to photograph her highly lauded second feature film "You Wont Miss Me," starring Stella Schnabel. While on a trip to Buenos Aires, Kitao met Andrew Barchilon. The two became close friends and creative partners, teaming up to produce "Aardvark," a feature film written and directed by Kitao. "Aardvark," a narrative / documentary hybrid starring a blind Jiu-Jitsu fighter, became an underground hit on the European festival circuit and inspired Andrew and Kitao to create Naked Faces, a partnership devoted to working with unique and unexplored creative voices. One such voice was Eric Andre. The three went on to develop and executive produce "The Eric Andre Show," now in it's fourth season on Adult Swim. Called "the weirdest (and most engrossing) ten minutes on contemporary television" by Spin Magazine, the show has gone on to amass a fanatical fan base, and last season became the #1 rated show on basic cable for it's time slot.