Go Deeper
In Pursuit is the culmination of more than 15 years of deep engagement with the complex and contradictory history of Philadelphia—America’s most formative city, which has also been often overlooked.
This engagement by the team of filmmakers at History Making Productions has taken place inside Philadelphia’s archival libraries, some of the largest and most extensive in the nation, in the dozens of authentic house museums and sites suitable for filming dramatic recreations, in the streets of the present-day city, where our cinematographers have filmed continuously, and in our own studio, where we have interviewed over 300 scholars, journalists, activists, artists, and regular citizens, a rich archive all on its own.
Along the way, our team has produced several documentary series of significance and wide popular appeal, including Philadelphia: The Great Experiment, which aired on Philadelphia’s ABC affiliate from 2011-2019; Urban Trinity: The Story of Catholic Philadelphia (2015); and Cecil’s People: The Freedom Fighters (2016)—all recipients of multiple Mid-Atlantic Emmy Awards.
In 2019, with the support of History Making Productions’ principal, Sam Katz, director Andrew Ferrett and writer Nathaniel Popkin set out to bring all this together with the vision of better understanding Philadelphia’s unceasing role in the making of America. This work intensified in 2023, when In Pursuit was awarded two key grants, from the William Penn Foundation and from the Funders Collaborative for 2026.
Early history is a challenge for documentarians. The visual record is limited to certain works of art and to archival documents. Director Andrew Ferrett sought to overcome this by producing extensive recreations and reenactments, dynamic scenes of 17th, 18th, and 19th century life. Director of Photography Paul van Haute brought more than 30 years of experience to these recreations.
In Pursuit tracks the evolution of visual media, from paintings and lithographs to the very first photographs taken in the United States to film and video. The vast majority of expert interviews were conducted in our studio, on the same backdrop for 15 years. To complement these story-building interviews, we also conducted “deepener” interviews produced on location. These encounters are meant to connect the audience to the history being presented at a more direct and personal level.
Pennsylvania Film Office, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
William Penn Foundation
Philadelphia Funder Collaborative for the Semiquincentennial
The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage
The Hess Foundation (Connie and Sankey Williams)
Wolfington Family Foundation (Eustace Wolfington)
Lubert Family Foundation (Pam Estad and Ira Lubert)
Lindy Family Foundation, (Alan Lindy, Elaine Lindy and Frank Lindy)
25 Century Fund (Lyn and Jim Buck and Caroline Rogers)
Walter ("Buck") Buckley
Rhonda and David Cohen
The Connelly Foundation
Poor Richard's Charitable Trust (Lisa Roberts and David Seltzer)
Legacy Foundation of the Union League
Roberts Family Foundation (Aileen and Brian Roberts)
Albert M. Greenfield Foundation
Morris Williams
Visit Philly
The Jimmy Katz Fund (Kathy Katz)
University of Pennsylvania
Hamilton Family Foundation
6abc/WPVI-TV
Julie and Jonathan Goldstein
Larry Magid
Don Caldwell
Korman Communities Fund
Morgan Lewis LLP
Ellen and Seth Lehr
The Carpenters Company of Philadelphia
Anne Ewers
Adelson Family Foundation
James Biddle
The Honorable Marjorie O. Rendell
Wind Foundation (Barbara Eberlein and Jerry Wind)
Roger Braunfeld, Esq.
Patty and Stephen Segal
Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University
African American Museum of Philadelphia
Arch Street Meeting House
Athenaeum of Philadelphia
Atwater Kent Collection of Drexel University
Carpenters Company
College of Physicians
Colonial Pennsylvania Farmstead
Delaware Tribe of Indians
Delaware Nation
Fairmount Park Conservancy
Fairmount Waterworks
Franklin Institute
Free Library of Philadelphia
Girard College
Hidden City Philadelphia
Historic Germantown
Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Histories Collaborative of Greater Philadelphia
Independence National Historical Park
Library Company of Philadelphia
Mother Bethel
Museum of the American Revolution
Pennsbury Manor
Philadelphia Art Museum
Preservation Alliance for Greater Philadelphia
Seventh Ward Tribute Project
Society for the Preservation of Historic Landmarks
Special Collections Resource Center, Temple University
Stenton
WPVI-TV (6abc)
History Making Productions is a full-service film and video production studio located in Philadelphia best known for provocative character-driven history documentaries, original music, and groundbreaking scholarship. HMP has received more than two dozen Emmy Awards for its inclusive and democratic approach to history and current events. The studio was formed in 2008 by civic leader Sam Katz and his son Philip Katz, who sought to make fast-paced, visually stimulating films for the digital age. Since then, the studio has produced over 200 films and videos on subjects ranging from architecture, baseball, and civil rights to philanthropy, religion, and science.
In Pursuit: Philadelphia and the Making of America features the voices of members of federally recognized Lenape/Delaware tribes, whose ancestors were the original human inhabitants of Philadelphia and its environs. Interviews were conducted with members of the Delaware Tribe of Indians, which is located in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Our production team was also consulted by members of the Delaware Nation, located in Anadarko, Oklahoma. Members of these tribes are the strongest authority to describe their language and cultural practices and to recount their history of displacement and forced removal.