Documentary chronicles geek challenge

Rarely has the technology sector served as the backdrop for compelling drama. Nonetheless, a small film company has completed an 80-minute documentary about the struggle of four interns to create and market their own software product.

Boondoggle Films and Fog Creek Software teamed up to make "Aardvark'd: 12 Weeks With Geeks," which follows the interns as they "design, develop, and debug" a software program before finally trying to coax someone to buy it, according to a statement from the companies.

The idea for the film was inspired by the hit television series "The Apprentice." Joel Spolsky, Fog Creek's co-founder, was irked by the way the show's star, Donald Trump, dropped contestants into make-believe business situations. Spolsky decided to tell a more realistic story.

Fog Creek asked four interns to take three months to build and market a software program that will fix their friends computers, the film's trailer says. Among the software applications developed by the Manhattan-based Fog Creek is the "Copilot," a troubleshooting software package that allows a person to fix a friend's computer remotely over the Internet.

Fog Creek created a Web site, projectaardvark.com, for those interested in buying the film on DVD.