Hollywood film and television creative talent Charles Murray said he spent much of his youth reading television and movie magazines while growing up in northwest Indiana.

“When filmmakers I read about as a kid talked about returning to their hometown roots, it seemed like they would go home to be part of a film festival to give something back to young people who share the same dream,” said Murray, a 1983 graduate of Roosevelt High School in Gary, whose credits include writing and producing FX’s “Sons of Anarchy” and Netflix’s “Luke Cage.”

“(Martin) Scorsese goes back to his roots in New York for a film festival and John Hughes would return to Chicago to do his films. When I discovered Gary was doing an international film festival, I knew it was something I wanted to be part of to promote my hometown.”

The 9th Annual Gary International Black Film Festival Oct. 11-13 will include more than 40 movie screening throughout the course of the three-day event in Bergland Auditorium in Savannah Hall on the Indiana University Northwest campus in Gary.

Murray will join actor Robert Townsend, who starred opposite Denzel Washington in “The Mighty Quinn” and opposite James Earl Jones in “The Meteor Man,” and other film and TV industry artists, to participate in the film screening as well as Q&A opportunities.

“The last time I attended this Gary film festival was in 2013 to screen my film ‘Things Never Said,’ which I wrote and directed,” Murray said.

“I moved to the West Coast back in 1988, but my first film opportunities didn’t happen until 2011. So much has happened in the film industry since the digital revolution and now filmmaking is something that is possible for so many more people.”

Murray will attend the festival’s Friday night red carpet opening premiere of the film “#Truth,” which he describes as a new psychological drama he wrote and directed. Karen Toering, a 1976 graduate of Emerson High School in Gary who now lives in Seattle, is the founder and executive director of the annual film festival.

“When I launched the film festival, I wanted it to be a hometown event and an added reason to place emphasis on the arts for the community,” Toering said.

“There’s important attention already given to schools, issues of crime and everyday needs like street maintenance, but the arts are just as important. Arts and culture are what make a community livable. This festival takes a lot of planning. It’s a labor of love.”

Toering said audiences have an opportunity to see the rising stars and creative talents of tomorrow having their “early climb to success” during the numerous film screenings.

“We have writers, directors and stars attend the event to talk about their work,” Toering said.

“You never know who might show up. Last year, actor Jussie Smollett was in Chicago filming and he took a break to come to Gary during our festival to support some friends who has their work included in our festival. We want this to be a very comfortable event. It’s not about dressing up to attend. We want everyone to feel welcome.”

Toni Simpson of Gary, who serves as the festival manager, said she has helped Toering organize the event since the beginning.

“I can recall when this film festival was so much smaller when it first started,” Simpson said.

“There were fewer films and we used to show them at the Glen Theater in Gary using the wall as a screen. Every year, this festival has grown and the opportunities for audiences keep expanding.

Simpson, who is also a cofounder of Gary’s West Side Theatre Guild, said pursuing the arts is a journey for many young people in communities throughout Northwest Indiana.

“For any student who might think having a career in film or on television is an impossible dream, this festival is the inspiration they need to realize that with hard work, dreams can become reality once they hear the stories of our community’s accomplished names who are living their dream.”

Philip Potempa is a freelance reporter.