The story behind Tom of Finland is to hit the big screen
The story of the man behind the iconic Tom of Finland drawings is to make it to the big screen in the form of a documentary film.
The artist, Touko Laaksonen, will be the subject of a film directed by Dome Karukoski.
While filming is to begin in Sweden this spring, the cast of the biopic will be announced on Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival.
Karukoski said in a 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.”
The Finnish postal service Itella announced a line of stamps earlier back in 2014 featuring the art of Tom of Finland – who inspired the look of Freddie Mercury and the Village People.
After the stamps went on sale, Itella reported that it had received pre-orders from 178 countries, and that the range of stamps were the best selling in its history.
However, Finnish supermarket chain Halpa-Halli has refused to stock the stamps, claiming they could “offend” customers.
The artist, real name Touko Laaksonen, died in 1991 but remains an influential figure in the gay art scene, and is one of Finland’s most well-known figures.
An earlier biopic, which was rejected by the artist’s estate, is believe to be unrelated to the new project.
