Die Gstettensaga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl (The Gstetten Saga: The Rise of Echsenfriedl) is an Austrian science fiction and fantasy film directed by Johannes Grenzfurthner and starring Sophia Grabner, Lukas Tagwerker and Jeff Ricketts.
The absurdist comedy deals with the politics and hype behind media technology and nerd culture. Grenzfurthner calls his film a contemporary way to talk about the critique of the spectacle and commodity fetishism.
The film was co-produced by art group monochrom and the media collective Traum & Wahnsinn, and created for the Austrian television channel ORF III.
It features music by Kasson Crooker, Starpause, and many others.
^ Interview with Johannes Grenzfurthner in Jungle World, September 2014
Synopsis
The growing tension between the last two remaining superpowers - China and Google - escalates in the early 21st century, and results in the global inferno of the "Google Wars". But as the decades go by, radioactive dust settles on old battlegrounds, and a New World rises from the ashes of the old.