![[Herbich Picture]](Herbich_B.JPG)
Herbich, Barbara Kathleen
(1954 - October 17, 2009)
(documentary film maker)
Barbara Kathleen Herbich, award winning documentary film director and producer passed away in New York on October 17, 2009 at the age of 55.
Has been making documentary films for more than twenty years. Since the Academy Award nominated A Stitch for Time in 1987, she has gone on to direct and produce a number of acclaimed documentaries for Public Television and Discovery Channel. For the past ten years, Barbara has been working on a historical documentary Nazi Persecution of Polish Christians. This documentary tells the forgotten story of persecution of Polish Christians by Nazis during Wold War II. Their stories have rarely been told in any medium and are virtually unknown in the United States. Through recorded witness testimonies of university professors, clergy and Nazi concentration camp survivors, archival photographs and news-reel footage, this documentary gives voice to 3 million Christian Poles killed by Nazis and to Polish Christian survivors of Nazi terror in occupied Poland. According to PBS Executive, Anne Robinson, "..this film promises to be a sensitive presentation of a complex and difficult subject. Your proposed film on an important and little known chapter in the history of Polish citizens during the Nazi era is well suited as a special for our national prime time schedule."
Barbara is a graduate of Columbia University/University of Texas, University of Strasborg, France and SNDT College in Poona, India. She resides in New York.
Barbara is a founder of Jadwiga Productions, Inc. She works on identifying and sourcing material for documentaries and features; fund raising, hiring talent; story editing; budgeting; negotiating co-production and distribution agreements; promotion and publicity.
Projects include:
A Stitch for Time (The Boise Peace Quilt Project) Nominated for Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, 1987.
USSR Art (first-ever Sotheby auction in the Soviet Union catapults underground Soviet artists into the western marketplace) Recipient of a Cine Golden Eagle. Producer/director,1988-1990.
New Entrepreneurs (profiles of inventor/entrepreneurs in Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Russia) Conducted on-site research and selection of principals to profile, 1991
History of the Jews and Catholics in Poland (Jewish/Catholic co-existence through the centuries)
The Irish Country House (the history of Irish-Georgian architecture, narrated by Angelika Huston) for The Irish Georgian Society. 1992-1993
Jamaica Story (treatment for historical mini-series) for St. Ann's Bay Productions. Research and development director, 1994-1995.
The Promise Keepers (events of the Christian men's movement in its early stages) Promo for one-hour documentary for CVJ Productions. Producer, 1995
Land of Lost Horizons (Russian Old Believers and the tradition of Shangri La) for CVJ Productions. Aired on Russian and German television. Consulting producer, 1994-95
Cyberspace (13-part series on the state of global cyberspace) for Antelope Films, London, UK.
Flava (program showcasing contemporary music groups with commentary by celebrity artists) for Channel 4, London, UK. New York production manager, 1997
Nazi Persecution of Polish Christians, a documentary film-in-progress, Jadwiga Productions, Inc., Producer, 1998-present
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
1983-1984 Fund raiser for Key Exchange, feature film, starring Brooke Adams; raised $1 million.
1987-1997 Acquisitions consultant to Maurice Kanbar, President, Cinema Four; targeted new business development opportunities in Poland and Russia.
1989-1990 Event coordinator for Corporate Finance Institute. Organized conferences on the privatization of Central Europe and Russia:
1997-1998 Fund raising consultant for the restoration of Brancusi's Endless Column in Romania for the World Monuments Fund.
AWARDS
Academy Award Nominee for Best Documentary Feature, 1987 A Stitch for Time
Cine Golden Eagles: A Stitch for Time and USSR Art
Rockefeller Grants: USSR Art and New Entrepreneurs
EDUCATION
Columbia University/President's Fellow, Master of Arts University of Texas, Bachelor of Arts with Honors University of Strasbourg, France, Diploma with Honors SNDT College, Poona, India, Religious art studies
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
New York Women in Film; The Kosciuszko Foundation; Columbia Alumni Association, Who's Who of American Women, 1999
From: Resume (2008)