Slamdance 2022 Film Festival – Saturated, glossy, sparkly, and high contrast — A Few Things I’m Beginning To Understand is a journey into the mind and life of the filmmaker, Xenia Matthews. Feeling just a little bit like a fever dream, this film takes from the highest of concept art, talk shows, drag, and the lowest of the low brow – all with great humor and admiration.

Borrowing from Matthews’ comments on the film, “This film is a true labor of love. Created in the isolation of the pandemic, Matthews uses fragmented form and innovative visuals to assess issues of anti-blackness through the intimate lens of young love.” And it does so beautifully, and with tons of glitter and glitz.

People will be moved and educated by this film, and will come away with an awareness of police brutality, toxic masculinity, and more – handed to them gently and in a beautiful package. While, hopefully, many of us already are aware of these things, and trying to make changes, Matthews took effort to make this film accessible even to those less educated. The concept seems to spin around two friends discussing their love lives, but it actually conveys a lot more.

A Few Things I’m Beginning To Understand was completely self- and crowd-funded, including getting the film seen by festivals. In fact, on googling the film, I found Matthews’ GoFundMe page, initially funding tech for the film’s post production, and converted to a “Get-Us-To-Slamdance” page. Brava to Matthews for meeting that goal and getting to Slamdance – a worthy home for this remarkable conceptual phenomenon. Check it out at the link below!

8 Out of 10