Gary Hines
Writing and Film Maker
About Gary Hines
Writer. Documentary Filmmaker. Storyteller.
I'm interested in stories—the ones we inherit, the ones we live, and the ones we sometimes spend a lifetime trying to understand.
My creative interests are rooted in personal experience, family history, music, culture, identity, and the people whose lives offer a different way of seeing the world. Through writing and documentary film, I want to explore those stories, preserve important memories, and bring attention to experiences that deserve to be heard.
I've been thinking about writing and storytelling for a long time. Some of the stories I want to tell are personal: my family history, the people who influenced me, the places I've called home, and the experiences that have shaped my understanding of myself and the world. Others reach beyond my own life, exploring the histories, perspectives, and experiences of interesting people and communities.
My time in Northern California during the late 1970s and early 1980s remains an important part of the story I want to tell. So do my experiences growing up, my relationship with family, and the journey of understanding identity, belonging, and what it means to find your own voice.
A Life Influenced by Music and Culture
Music has always been an important part of my life. Growing up with the influence of family members who loved music, I developed an appreciation for everything from early rap, punk, and new wave to dance music and deep house.
That interest eventually found an outlet in radio. I hosted The Catacombs on G-Town Radio, where I combined music, conversation, and interviews with people from Philadelphia's LGBTQ+ community. It was an opportunity to share music I loved while creating space for conversations and perspectives that I thought deserved more attention.
That experience continues to influence how I think about storytelling: everyone has a story, and sometimes all it takes is the right questions and someone willing to listen.
The Stories I Want to Tell
My interests extend across personal memoir, family history, documentary film, photography, architecture, Black culture, and the people who influence the communities around them.
I'm particularly interested in the connections between individual lives and larger cultural experiences. How do our families shape us? How do the places we live influence who we become? What do we remember, what do we leave behind, and what can we learn by listening to someone else's story?
I want to explore these questions through two complementary creative pursuits:
Writing: Personal memoir, family history, reflection, and stories drawn from lived experience.
Documentary Film: Personal stories, profiles, interviews, and portraits of people whose experiences offer insight, inspiration, or a fresh perspective.
I'm also interested in the unexpected—in the overlooked details, unconventional perspectives, and ordinary experiences that often reveal something extraordinary about being human.
An Ongoing Creative Journey
I'm not approaching this work with the idea that I have all the answers. I'm approaching it with curiosity, a willingness to learn, and a desire to finally give these creative interests the time and attention they've always deserved.
This website is a place to bring those interests together. It will evolve as I write, film, interview, explore, and discover new stories worth sharing.
Ultimately, I believe our stories matter. They help us understand where we've been, make sense of where we are, and leave something meaningful for those who come after us.
Welcome. I'm glad you're here.
— Gary
Background
My background in video is mostly on the business side where I created “how to” videos for job seekers. I do career coaching and created various clips on the steps for career preparation and management. I have also filmed various trips that i have taken including recent trips to the Caribbean and Spain. Visually, I have always been an admirer of offbeat, indie film and TV- think David Lynch and Melvin Van Peeples. I am obsessed with photography and architecture. Black Culture and BIPOC interests are always appealing. I like to talk with cultural innovators and explore new ideas and concepts. Maybe you will like them too!
Music has been a major part of my life and I have such a diverse library and musical interest since I was a DJ/Programmer for a few years on an Internet-based radio station known as G-Town Radio in Philadelphia. I had a broadcast show called The Catacombs and played dance/club/house music and interviewed prominent folks in the LGBTQ+ communities. My passion for music and art stems from an upbringing with a very diverse and talented group of friends and family members. As a youngster, we listened to everyone from Janis Joplin to Miles Davis to the Funkadelic.
Music has been ingrained in me with from my father who thought he was Fats Waller or Billy Eckstine and my brother who thought he was John Coltrane. I dabbled with the piano and the trombone, but was not disciplined enough to stick with it. As I grew up, I came of age in the 70’s and 80’s which I think had the best music of any era. So dance music, deep house, early rap, punk and new wave all appealed to me. It still does.
My writing involves stories about my brother and sisters as well as my time in Northern California in the late 70’s early 80’s. My coming out as Gay is also a focus among other things. Most of the writing that I do is focused on non-fiction and personal reflection, Black Culture and interests of BIPOC communities (Black, Indigenous, People of Color). In writing, I’m exploring my family history in words as well as my personal growth as an out Black man.
Writing and Film Stuff
Writing
Here is a brief sample of a piece I wrote about my brother.
Searching for Jocko – Gary Hines
A Current and Backward Look at a Man of Mystery
I immediately knew something was wrong when my brother did not call me on Christmas morning in 2010. I did not panic, but by New Years Day 2011, I still had not heard from him. I suspected that maybe he got busy as he often did, or maybe it slipped his mind. I think now that lots of things had been slipping his mind over the years. When our Mom passed in 2007, I was not sure I would be able to locate my brother to be home for the funeral. I was really feeling alone. My brother Jock-short for Jocko- was not around when my mother’s health started its downward slide. My two sisters had passed years earlier, and my immediate family was basically non-existent. The year 2006 was a tough year for me and that year officially ended in January 2007 when my mother died. In about 6 months, my Mom went from being a good healthy senior citizen to being dead at an unfamiliar hospital in the Northwest section of Philadelphia.
My brother always kept in some form of communication after he left home at 17 in 1970. I was 13 and Jock had just graduated from high school and wanted to see the world. He was so anxious to leave and he did not participate in the graduation ceremony. You may have heard of the expression “Born too late”. Well, that was my brother. He was an old soul type and although born in 1952, he probably should have born in 1902. The 20’s and 30’s of Harlem and Chicago would have been perfect for him and his outlook on life. I can see him jamming on the trumpet in some back-alley juke joint with other Harlem renaissance legends like Richard Wright and Langston Hughes. He was into jazz and revolution during the 60’s. He was against the war and was all in for Black Power and the movement. I think he wanted to be Huey Newton. He looked like Huey Newton. Click here for the full short story.