It can be tempting to pass over TBA’s film programming in favor of all the live-action performances around the city. But if ever there’s a reason to reconsider, it’s for the films of William Kentridge, which screen tonight and next Thursday. They’re animated films, but they have virtually nothing to do with the cute/funky/cool animations found at film fests or on YouTube. Kentridge’s animation “cels” are enormous charcoal drawings, which come to mournful, evocative life with countless layers or erasing and re-drawing. They are truly spectacular to behold, and PICA has lined up screenings of Kentridge’s best work.

Here’s a segment from Brazilian TV that gives you some sense of what he does:

Nine Drawings for Projection screens at the Whitsell Auditorium (inside the Portland Art Museum), 1219 SW Park, tonight and on Thurs Sept 13, at 7 pm. Buy tickets.