Private Project

THE BURDEN OF CONTEXT

With the help of her grandmother, Latavia identifies the milieu of her ancestry; inadvertently revealing the living legacy of slavery, segregation, and gentrification in Miami and its influence on her family narrative. Poetically intermingling her and her grandmother’s voice, family images, and historic archival of Miami in the 1920’s through the 1960’s, Latavia guides us through and contextualizes the salient beats of her ancestral story. The emotional journey through the decades culminates in an emotional revelation that leaves Latavia feeling both helpless and indomitable.

  • Latavia Young
    Director
  • Latavia Young
    Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short
  • Runtime:
    10 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    January 8, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    5,142 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Latavia Young

Latavia Young is a Liberty City, Miami-born, Peterborough, England-raised, Bed-stuy, Brooklyn-based filmmaker and writer who’s independent work explores, experiments with, and defines the convergence of Blackness, queerness, love, poverty, coming of age, and cultural aesthetics. Moving beyond representation, Latavia focuses on storytelling that centers queer and BIPOC individuals.

Latavia’s creative leadership journey began at age 5 when she began producing living room shows with her friends for her mother. Her love for visual storytelling was fostered while running a one-woman video production program in high school and cemented after leading the Arizona State Film Association as Creative Director then President throughout her college career. In 2017, Latavia conceived the idea for and took part in founding the annual Herberger Day, giving students of all majors access to the arts at ASU. In 2018, she was one of five students nominated for Undergraduate Student Leader of the Year and received the Producer of the Year award.

In 2019 Latavia showcased “The (Dis)United States” at Oaxaca Film Festival in Oaxaca, Mexico and “Playing with Fire” at Aesthetica Film Festival in York, England. In 2020, Latavia managed production for “Fast Life” by R&B artist Ayelle as well as podcasts for former President Bill Clinton, Amazon Studios, and AppleTV+. In 2021 she was an Executive Development finalist for Lena Waithe’s Inaugural Hillman Grad Mentorship Program and produced music videos for alternative bands Breakup Shoes and Summer Salt.

Latavia has recently completed post-production for her two BRIC supported documentaries "The Burden of Context" which explores the living legacy of slavery, segregation, and gentrification in Miami and it's impact on her family narrative and "My Fierce Aunt Bianca" which honors the life and legacy of of Bianca "Exotica" Maldonaldo, the trans starlette on the cover of Blood Orange's 2011 Coastal Grooves album. She is also in post-production for Natalie Jasmine Harris’ short film, “Grace” which Black queer girlhood by centering a preteen exploring her queerness against the backdrop of southern Black life in the 60's.

A storyteller and community builder at heart, Latavia has a love for the socio-communal and change making power of storytelling and the potential that film, television, and social media has to make a lasting impact on individuals. She has a passion for connecting people to and through story and prioritizes leveraging the multitude of ways that audiences can connect to and interact with stories.

Latavia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Film and Media Production, a minor in Digital Culture and Social Media Analytics, and a Master’s Degree in Arts Leadership and Cultural Management. She currently works in film and television development at Jax Media and has previously held placements at RadicalMedia, AT WILL MEDIA, and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

The last few years have been a test of my motivations, priorities, and stamina and what I’ve learned is that there’s a lot more learning to do.

The desire to make this film started as an ancestry test and I turned my disappointment for the lack of nuance into a desire to uncover the truth. The truth that time and time again, Black people all over the country and the world have picked themselves up, have tried to acquiesce to this system, to this country...and time and time again this country drives a wedge between Black people and a tolerable existence; between Black people and the history and future they deserve.

The history and future that is right and true.

We’re a people between worlds filled with “if only’s” and I think, at the very least, we deserve to understand the context of our existence.

And now, more than ever, stories like this are not only necessary but urgent especially as it pertains to Florida; where Black and Brown communities (and with them, their histories) are constantly threatened with erasure.

The Burden of Context is a glimpse into history - with the hopes of correcting the future - through the lens of truth; my truth.

My name is Latavia Young.