Star Trek Parody a Huge Success - Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning Tops 45,000 Free Movie Downloads  
by Anne P. Mitchell, Esq. - 1 Comment, Last updated 10/07/2005

An indie parody of Star Trek, dubbed “Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning” has apparently exceeded all expectations of its producers. The parody, which was created entirely with volunteers, and out of the pockets of the producers on the thinnest of shoestring budgets, has already been downloaded an estimated 750,000 times in the week since it was released to the Internet.

Not too surprising, actually. I’ve seen the trailer, and it’s extremely well done. Enough so that I didn’t even mind that it was in Finnish, with English subtitles. As the film’s website explains, “The film combines world-class visual effects, a rough-and-ready sense of humour, and a passion that provide the basis for the first-ever Finnish science fiction adventure.”

“Star Wreck: In the Pirkinning” was produced primarily on computers in producer Samuli Torssonen’s living room. The “Star Wreck” site describes it as “the product of a core group of five Finns, and over 300 extras, assistants and supporters.” The project took over seven years to bring to fruition.

With so much going into what appears to be a top quality indie film, more than a homemade parody, why release it for free on the Internet?

Says Star Wreck’s director, Timo Vuorensola, “We took a conscious decision not to go to the theatres as the movie was done mostly on a voluntary basis. Through the Internet and DVD it will probably get the widest possible viewership. We are hoping to reach one million downloads by the end of the year.”

Looks like they’ll reach that by the end of the month!

While after viewing the trailer, it’s difficult to believe that it was so low budget, according to the “Star Wreck: The Pirkinning” FAQ, “The bridge sets are all virtual. The on-location shoots were made at locations that didn’t cost any money (schools, public places etc). The “bluescreen studio” is actually a small piece of blue linoleum in Samuli’s living room…For Samuli this is a somewhat costly hobby, but as a movie it’s still very close to a zero budget. The most expensive part of the production has been keeping the computer equipment up to date.”

And so yes, they really are making this movie, which took seven years and hundreds of people to produce, available for free on the Internet. Explains the “Star Wreck” site, “Yes, the movie is available for free on our website. For free of course, under a Creative Commons license. You can spread the link, the movie and the word as much as you like, as long as you don’t change it, or charge people for watching it.”

You can also purchase the DVD, which has extra scenes and a “making of” documentary, through the website, which is at StarWreck.com.

To borrow a word from the film, it’s the ultimate Turpakäräjiin (fragfest).