BEAR WEEK DIARIES

BEAR WEEK DIARIES is a bold and intimate exploration of love, desire, and community set in the fabled LGBTQ+ haven that is Provincetown, Massachusetts. Part folk documentary, part boy-meets-boy scripted saga, the film twists conventional storytelling to present the Bear community in all its raw glory during the annual Bear Week celebration – where revelers from around the world converge to dance, flirt, and embrace bodies that challenge conventional beauty standards. Will love or heartache prevail?

BEAR WEEK DIARIES begins as fictional characters David and Ryan each arrive in Provincetown filled with anticipation for what Bear Week promises – massive dance floors, romantic moonlit piers, and carefree days on the dunes – but end up confronted with each other, and with deep personal revelations about what they really want. Their story is wrapped into a reflective history of Provincetown itself, told through the lens of local denizens including icons Varla Jean Merman and Christeene. The legendary DJ collective Horse Meat Disco adds a pulsating soundtrack to Provincetown’s endless nights. Italian filmmaker and Bear Week regular Antongiulio Panizzi drew on his deep connections with Provincetown locals and the Bear Week event to create a fresh hybrid story filled with passion and authenticity.

Provincetown is a town like no other—once a humble fishing village, it now mixes quaint New England charm with unapologetic queer celebration. But there’s a catch: it has also become an ultra-expensive vacation destination, and Bear Week has morphed into a playground reserved for the mostly middle-aged men who can afford it. BEAR WEEK DIARIES explores how these men of a certain age relate to fun, connection, and identity, trying to keep up the pace of youthful revelry while navigating the realities of aging.