Across all genres and mediums, Latavia gravitates toward uncharted stories that center truth.
Coming of age, Blackness, queerness, love, class, and the cultural aesthetics of dreams tend to be at the center of her creative explorations.
Born in Miami, Florida and raised in Peterborough, UK, the cultural and geographical influences on her perspective are vast. Latavia has lived in Florida, England, Arizona, Wyoming, New York, and California and has traveled to many states and countries.
thelataviayoung@gmail.com ///// @thelataviayoung
writing samples & extended portfolio available upon request
photo by SK @nadusajin
With a history of bringing thought-provoking and visually elevated work to fruition, Latavia Alicia Young's recent projects include THE BURDEN OF CONTEXT, a biographical short documentary following Latavia as she investigates and preserves the milieu and memory of her ancestors, MY FIERCE AUNT BIANCA, a short documentary co-directed and produced by herself and Maria José Maldonaldo centering the life and legacy of the trans-starlette featured on the cover of Blood Orange’s Coastal Grooves Album, and GRACE, a narrative short written and directed by Natalie Jasmine Harris illuminating the intersection of girlhood, Blackness, and queerness in the 1950's U.S. South which premiere's at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival. Latavia has produced music videos for alternative bands Breakup Shoes and Summer Salt and managed production for “Fast Life” by R&B artist Ayelle as well as podcasts for former President Bill Clinton, Amazon Studios, and AppleTV+.
Passionate about storytelling and digital culture, Latavia’s focuses lie in film and television development, show-running, directing, writing, and further harnessing the community building powers of social media. She has held positions at The Tonight Show, RadicalMedia, AT WILL MEDIA, and is currently at Imagine Entertainment subsidiary Jax Media supporting TV and Film development and production efforts. She has peripheral passions in brand direction, business and brand strategy, social media and digital strategy, creative direction, cultural commentary, and fashion.
Latavia’s love for visual storytelling was fostered while running a one-woman video production program in high school and cemented during her collegiate career during which she led the Arizona State University Film Association as Creative Director then President, laid the foundation for an on-campus production studio in it's inaugural year as a Studio Coordinator, liaised with the administration about the needs of creative students as a Creative Fellow, and founded a campus-wide initiative that continues to give all students access to the arts called Herberger Day. She is a two-time Herberger School of the Arts Special Talent Award recipient and in 2018 she was 1 of 5 students nominated for Undergraduate Student Leader of the Year before receiving the Producer of the Year award. She earned her Bachelor of the Arts in Film and Media Production with a concentration in Directing and a minor in Digital Culture and Social Media Analytics and her Master of Arts from Colorado State University in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management.