"There must be a link to Bavaria," Sporrer said of the films.

Steller was born in 1715 in Windsheim, Bavaria, and worked at the Saint Petersburg Academy of Sciences in Russia. In 1738 he joined Vitus Bering's Second Kamchatka Expedition as Bering's naturalist, and in June 1741 sailed to Alaska with Bering on the St. Peter.

"He's very unknown in Germany," Sporrer said of Steller. "Maybe one in a thousand know of him."

On July 20, 1741, Steller led a shore party to Kayak Island, becoming the first European to visit Alaska. During his short expedition he collected Alaska Native artifacts and described new plant and wildlife species. Steller's sea lion, Steller's sea eagle, the Steller jay and Steller's sea cow -- now extinct -- are all named after him.

In the Aleutian Islands, the St. Peter was shipwrecked. Bering died of scurvy, but through his knowledge, Steller found plants to help him ward off the vitamin C deficiency. The survivors rebuilt the St. Peter and sailed home.

One challenge the filmmakers faced was Steller himself.

"From Steller, you have nothing. No pictures," Sporrer said. "Nothing."

Prestel will use historical images and settings like Saint Petersburg to show some scenes, but for parts of the film uses actors.

"You must play all of this with re-enacting," Sporrer said. "You need more ideas how you can show this."

That's where Smith came in. Smith is a filmmaker and sound engineer working on his own projects as well as a current PBS production, "Arctic Son." Through Web research, Sporrer contacted Smith and hired him to be the local production manager. Because of money and time constraints, Sporrer wanted to shoot on the Kenai Peninsula. The wide variety of settings, from China Poot Bay to Ohlson Mountain, worked well for Sporrer and Prestel's script.

Last week, the film crew were at Windhorse Ranch, Kristin Domela's homestead near the end of Ohlson Mountain Road. With her partner Jim O'Meara leading their Icelandic ponies Geisli and Doppi, cameraman Wil Boettger videotaped Smith, O'Meara and Prestel moving down a forest trail -- a scene depicting Steller in Siberia. There was no Hollywood hubhub, no big lights or million-dollar special effects. Later, at a fire pit in front of Domela's cabin -- the old Anchor Point schoolhouse moved log-by-log to the homestead -- O'Meara depicted a Siberian teaching Prestel as Steller about local plants.

The one shot they couldn't get was of a Steller jay. They had heard reports of the bright blue birds all over town. O'Meara told them he'd seen a Steller jay a few days earlier on the ranch, and Domela said there were three Steller jays behind the Homer Vet Clinic.

"It was the shot that got away," Smith said.

Sporrer has done previous Bavarian Broadcasting films in Alaska, including one about Bavarians in the Gold Rush.

Shooting in Alaska helps Germans learn about the state -- and maybe get excited about visiting, Sporrer said.

"After I show the program, people will say, 'How can I come to Homer?'" he said. "It's good advertisement."

The film crew also shot footage in Anchorage, including of Steller School, named after Steller. In comparison, they'll also shoot students at Steller Gymnasium, a school in Germany. The film will be released on Bavarian public television next fall or early 2010.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michaelarmstrong.@homernews.com.