Director Courtney Sofiah Yates Joins Florence

Florence has added Brooklyn-based filmmaker and photographer Courtney Sofiah Yates to its roster of incredible talent. Yates’s work focuses on human relationships and capturing our most heightened emotional states with a discerning eye for photographic composition. Across her body of work, Yates creates new realities through her gift for world-building with inventive shots and eliciting nuanced performances from her on-screen talent.

Emotional landscapes drenched in color characterize all of Yates’s films. She directed spots for Bumble, Dick’s Sporting Goods, REI, and Coterie, among many others. Her fluid shots, replete with light, made the Yates-directed music video for 'GEMINI' from up-and-coming artist HAWA come to life. Additionally, as a stills photographer, her work has been published in W Magazine, New York Times, Vogue, and Marie Claire, as well as several independent outlets.

Her thoughtful work as a filmmaker has made her an entrusted director when brands delve into longer-form content, often following subjects to glimpse their creative processes and deeper feelings. Yates directed Vogue’s video feature on the legendary film director Julie Dash as she gives audiences a look at the creation of her iconic film Daughters of the Dust. Yates’ ads for Moncler inject elements of suspended reality while profiling The Empire Marching Band and dancer King Kumo. Her film for Smirnoff, “Come on In (8 Wheels),” highlighted the rollerskating community in Atlanta through a visually symphonic fantasia. The film was selected as a Vimeo Staff Pick. This ability to distill and elegantly display core human truths made her film for Ad Council, “Real Deal on Fentanyl,” expand the narrative possibility of what a PSA can do.

“My work, across the commercial and personal, is an effort to bring soul and feeling into any and all representations of human life,” says Yates of joining Florence’s roster. “ I'm so impressed with how Florence supports its artists to create what they believe in and imagine even more expansive expressions for that work. I'm so happy to be a part of the community.

Ned Brown, managing director and executive producer of Florence, adds, “Courtney’s work is as captivating as she is. There’s a lot of technical artistry behind it, but like any true magician, she won’t show you how the trick is done. The films she makes are stunning and absolutely captivating. We couldn’t be happier to have her on board at Florence.”