In the same way that gay culture gradually rose up from the underground and into every part of mainstream media, now sub-cultures within the gay community are gaining visibility and with the release of two ‘bear’ themed queer movies this year, it seems the grizzlier side of gay life is ready for its close-up.

First up is documentary filmmaker and self-professed bear Malcolm Ingram’s very personal exploration of what the label means. Bear Nation loosely follows Ingram’s own experience of discovering a community where he felt he belonged, but focuses on other people’s stories, starting off from a basement in Toronto. The film also looks into how the term ‘bear’ has entered the public consciousness (even his mother now uses it!) and examines what next for this gay sub-culture.

Bear Nation had its premiere earlier this year at Texas’ South By Southwest culture festival and is currently touring both mainstream and gay film festivals (check out the excellent interview with Malcolm Ingram above, recorded at SXSW).

Also sending its best frock to the dry cleaners in time for its movie premiere at next month’s New York LGBT Film Festival (11 June) is eagerly awaited gay rom-com Bear City, a kind of hairy Sex And The City. It stars newcomer Joe Conti as a young, aspiring actor with a thing for bears who finds much more than he’s looking for!

So, with these two ‘big’ loving gay movies looking for a wide audience this year, it seems like bears are bigger than ever. Maybe it’s time for a modern retelling of that classic chubby-chaser fairytale, ‘Goldilocks’…