Karukoski’s Tom of Finland To Begin Filming In The Spring
Dome Karukoski’s Tom of Finland is set to begin filming in Gothenberg in the spring. The film, written by Aleksi Bardy, tells the life story of Finnish artist Touko Laaksonen, a man who would one day become known simply as Tom of Finland.
Laaksonen returned home to Helsinki a hero after an eventful military service during World War II. However, peacetime was no less distressing for him as he was persecuted for his homosexuality, forced to have secret affairs and pressured into marrying a woman.
He went on to discover liberation in his art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men in provocative poses, and developed a worldwide following that fanned the flames of gay revolution in the US.
“This is the story of a man ahead of his time, bravely standing up against a world virulently against his right to ask who he was – a homosexual man with homosexual fantasies,” said Karukoski.
“The story shows how literally one person can create change in the world, even with something as simple as an artist’s tools.”
The cast is to be announced during The Berlin Film Festival at a press conference on Sunday.