The collective of artists, researchers, and filmmakers—as well as pseudo-Marxist media guerrillas— Total Refusal (Susanna Flock, Robin Klengel, Leonhard Müllner, Michael Stumpf) appropriates and reinvents contemporary video games, while writing about games and politics. The themes addressed by the collective draw inspiration from critical studies of video games and social theory, with the aim of promoting and popularizing a counter-hegemonic left.

He also draws inspiration from gaming communities to practice “agitainment”—a blend of agitation and entertainment. By infusing post-Marxist analysis into the sanitized world of video games, the collective aims to offer an accessible yet critical examination of mass media and the ideological algorithms underlying it. Her work spans film, video art, live in-game performances, writing, and educational initiatives. They call their films “Machinifestos”—political manifestos expressed through machinima. By bridging the worlds of academia, art, film, and video games, Total Refusal catalyzes a Marxist critique of society through a playful, analytical, and humorous approach, with the aim of radicalizing its audience.

Since its founding in 2018, their work has been recognized with more than 70 awards and honorable mentions, including the European Film Award, the Best Short Film Director Award at the Locarno Film Festival, and Vimeo’s “Staff Pick” Award, among others. Total Refusals’ works have been screened at more than 400 film and art festivals—such as the Berlinale, Doc Fortnight at MoMA in New York, and the Locarno Film Festival—and have been presented in various exhibition spaces, including the 2021 Venice Architecture Biennale, the HEK in Basel, and Ars Electronica in Linz.