Hitler angrily rejects an invitation to perform at SXSW

The annual music-industry circus known as South By Southwest lays siege to Austin beginning with SXSW Interactive and Film on March 9 and through SXSW Music, which ends on March 18. Complaining about SXSW is the No. 1 past-time of people who attend the festival, from those who pine for the less-hyped old days to those who begrudge the event’s organizers for how they treat performers.

Comedian Duncan Trussell—co-host of the podcast The Lavender Hour—falls into the latter camp. SXSW has become a comedy destination in recent years, though comics get the same deal as bands: an invitation to play, but no pay or travel expenses.

To vent, Trussell has jumped up the angry-Hitler meme—which subtitles an intense scene from 2004’s Downfall about the dictator’s last days for comic effect—with a video portraying Hitler as a broke comedian who can’t afford the career-expanding exposure SXSW ostensibly offers. “This is bigger than your career!” Hitler (Bruno Ganz) bellows. “This is about not letting assholes get away with highway robbery!”

The full video is below. When you’re done, you can also see Hitler also complain about SXSW’s phoniness.