Don Hertzfeldt

When I think of the animation of Don Hertzfeldt, stick figures with uncontrollable anal bleeding come to mind. His somewhat childish line work (think: belligerently talking amoebas on spindly legs) is coupled with a very dark sense of humor. In his Oscar-nominated 2000 Rejected, a guy who dares not to wear a silly hat to a meeting of silly hat wearers is beaten to death. Lesson: Heed the sign about the silly hats. Tonight Hertzfeldt will conduct two audience Q&A sessions following this package of shorts and his new 60-minute I Am So Proud of You. As his fans know, the Santa Barbara-based animator is a one-man operation who draws every frame, photographs and scores his work. And promotes it. Along with his buddy Mike Judge, he’s been a past curator of the traveling The Animation Show. On his Web site, www.bitterfilms.com, Hertzfeldt also sells T-shirts and DVD compilations you can’t buy elsewhere. Because, the artist explains, “Amazon, Netflix, and your corner liquor store are all out of luck. We are weird and controlling like that.” Note: The GI recommends RSVP-ing by phone or Web for an event that will likely sell out in advance. Grand Illusion, 1403 N.E. 50th St., 523-3935, www.grandillusioncinema.org. $8. 7 and 9:15 p.m. BRIAN MILLER
Mon., Oct. 6, 7 & 9:15 p.m., 2008