Documentary on Phila. nears shooting

A documentary series on the history of Philadelphia has moved closer to reality thanks to a $400,000 grant from the Barra Foundation, a private philanthropic organization in Wyndmoor.

The seed money - approved last month - will help pay for a production team, a pilot episode, and distribution to television and educational institutions.

An additional $125,000 was raised in recent weeks from other foundations, which have asked to remain anonymous, said the project's executive producer, Sam Katz.

"There is a general enthusiasm out there about the documentary," said Katz, an investment banker and former Philadelphia mayoral candidate. "A lot of foundations are keenly interested, but want to see fuller development and plans" before contributing financially.

"The truth is I've never felt anything but confident about this. Now that there's some money, it's time to do it."

Katz, 58, of West Mount Airy, plans to produce an eight-hour history of the city to be edited into various lengths for television, the Internet and the classroom. He envisions a school version with 25 segments, each 18 to 23 minutes.

The pilot is expected to cost $150,000 and "will focus on the period from 1864, the year before the end of the Civil War, and 1875, the year before the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. That was a dynamic time in the city's history," said Katz, Republican candidate for mayor in 1999 and 2003.

Though eclipsed by New York in the 19th century and "not always on an upward spiral," Philadelphia has demonstrated the consistent ability to bounce back, Katz added.

The city's continual remaking of itself will be a theme of the series, he said.

Katz, who said he believed that Philadelphia was entering another period of reinvention, began work on the project a year ago after finding documentaries on other cities but none on Philadelphia.

He wrote a business plan and created a Web site in the hope of attracting investors, researchers, writers and fact-checkers. And he has teamed with award-winning independent filmmaker Mark Moskowitz, now executive director of the project.

Katz and Moskowitz hope to debut the documentary by 2011, but will need to raise about $5 million.

The pilot, which they hope to finish by March, will be used to win support from companies and organizations such as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, they said.

The Barra Foundation, which focuses its philanthropy on the Philadelphia region, confirmed its award of $400,000 but declined to comment further.

"We face hurdles, but in the new spirit of Philadelphia, we are on a can-do track," Katz said.

Visit Sam Katz's Web site about the documentary at http://go.philly.com/phillydocEndText