Tom of Finland

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Award-winning filmmaker Dome Karukoski brings to screen the life and work of TOM OF FINLAND one of the most influential and celebrated figures of twentieth century gay culture. They called it filth - it became a revolution.

Director: Dome Karukoski

Stars: Pekka Strang, Lauri Tilkanen, Niklas Hogner

Description

TOM OF FINLAND is the beautiful and exhilarating true story of Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen and his journey to international success.

In the film, Touko returns home after serving his country in World War II. But post-war Finland is a bleak and moralistic place where homosexuality is illegal, so Touko has to be furtive about his sexual encounters. To amuse himself and his friends, Touko starts to draw muscular, uninhibited and proud gay men, but these drawings have to be kept secret – even his sister Kaija doesn’t know about them. For a while, Touko leads a regular life working in an advertisement agency, and falls in love with a dancer, Veli Mäkinen. But his drawings soon lead Touko to Berlin and from there to Los Angeles, where his art reaches a wide audience. His work, always with his ’Tom of Finland’ signature, becomes widely symbolic and fans the flames of the gay movement. Tom of Finland’s art is timeless and world famous.

They called it filth, it became a revolution.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

This is the story of a man ahead of his time, bravely standing up against a world virulently against his right to be who he was – a homosexual man with homosexual fantasies. The story shows how literally one person can create change in the world, even with something as simple as an artist’s tools. This is the portrait of an honored artist for the big screen, as well as a love story amongst other themes. Touko Laaksonen truly lived an incredible life worth sharing with the world.

Learn how TOM OF FINLAND was almost TOM OF LONDON in the PECCADILLO BLOG


 



  • "In a subtle but wily performance, Strang never loses sight of his character's innate sense of resistance."

    Ty Burr - Boston Globe
  • "'Tom of Finland' entertainingly recounts an intriguing and vital chapter of 20th-century gay history with style and deference."

    Gary Goldstein - Los Angeles Times
Cast: Pekka Strang, Lauri Tilkanen, Niklas Hogner
Director: Dome Karukoski
Country: Finland
Language: Finnish
Subtitles: English
Format: PAL
Aspect Ratio: 16 x 9
Running Time: 116 mins
LTD Edition Release Date: 08-11-2016
DVD Release Date: 08-11-2016
VoD Release Date: 14-08-2017
Cinema Release Date: 11-08-2017
Bluray Extras: Interview with Durk Dehner - Co-founder of the Tom of Finland Foundation, Deleted Scenes and Discussions at the Tom of Finland House
Ltd-edition Catalogue Number: 5060265150792 (ltd edition)
Dvd Catalogue Number: 5060265150785
Year: 2017

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