MQFF is very proud to present a private opening night screening of TOM OF FINLAND at Cinema Noval in Lygon St, Carlton! This is a fundraising event for the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and the ticket price includes entry to the film, booking fee and a piccolo bottle of sparkling to enjoy on the night. Film starts 6.30pm. Book today!
From award winning filmmaker Dome Karukoski, the film is the long-awaited biography of artist Touko Laaksonen, the man behind the iconic signature ‘Tom of Finla...
MQFF is very proud to present a private opening night screening of TOM OF FINLAND at Cinema Noval in Lygon St, Carlton! This is a fundraising event for the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, and the ticket price includes entry to the film, booking fee and a piccolo bottle of sparkling to enjoy on the night. Film starts 6.30pm. Book today!
From award winning filmmaker Dome Karukoski, the film is the long-awaited biography of artist Touko Laaksonen, the man behind the iconic signature ‘Tom of Finland’, and the events that influenced his iconic homoerotic drawings.
After the trauma of serving in WWII, Touko (Pekka Strang, in a towering performance) finds no peace at home as he has to go to increasingly greater lengths to hide his homosexuality, even from his family. As the secret affairs and police crackdowns wear on him, he commits more deeply to his art, drawing inspiration from the uniforms that oppress him.
Touko gains confidence from the positive reactions he receives after sharing his explicit drawings of muscular men in sexually uninhibited situations with a select few. But it is only when an American publisher sees them and invites Tuoko over to the West Coast that his life really takes a turn. Finally being able to walk free and proud in Los Angeles, Touko dives head first into the sexual revolution, becoming an icon and a rallying point.
“An artfully composed and sensitively acted life story that nimbly encapsulates social and sexual progress in the second half of the 20th century.“
Charles Gant, SCREEN INTERNATIONAL
★★★★
“Gracefully zones in on the man and his life to celebrate both his bravery and his art. Pekka Strang is perfectly cast. A carefully crafted and thorough portrait.”
Amber Wilkinson, EYE FOR FILM
★★★★