The proudly erotic drawings of artist Touko Laaksonen, known to the world as Tom of Finland, shaped the fantasies of a generation of gay men, influencing art and fashion before crossing over into the wider cultural consciousness. But who was the man behind the leather? Dome Karukoski’s stirring biopic follows his life from the trenches of WWII and the repressive Finnish society of the 1950s through his struggle to get his work published in California, where he and his art were finally embraced amid the sexual revolution of the 1970s. Tom’s story is one of love, courage, and perseverance, mirroring the gay liberation movement for which his leather-clad studs served as a defiant emblem. Directed by Dome Karukoski (Finland, 2017).
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR
Dome Karukoski is one of Finland’s most commercially successful and critically acclaimed filmmakers. In 2013, he was chosen as one of Variety’s Top 10 Directors to Watch (worldwide) and his six feature films have garnered a total of 33 nominations at the Finnish National Film Awards.
There, Karukoski has been nominated for Best Director for all six of his feature films and has won the prize twice for Home of the Dark Butterflies and Lapland Odyssey.
About the Series
Each year, Scandinavia House presents the films chosen by Nordic countries to compete for the Oscar nomination for the Best Foreign Language Film. This year we will be presenting the 2017 contenders: November (Estonia), You Disappear (Denmark), Under the Tree(Iceland), Tom of Finland (Finland), Thelma (Norway), and The Square (Sweden).
Films in the series include:
November—WED—JAN 3
You Disappear /Du forsvinder—FRI—JAN 5
Under the Tree /Undir trénu—WED—JAN 10
Tom of Finland—FRI—JAN 12
Thelma—WED—JAN 17
The Square—THU—JAN 18
1515783600
1515790800
Image courtesy of Helsinki Filmi Oy
FRI—January 12—7 PM
$12 ($7 ASF Members)
116 min. In Finnish and English with English subtitles.