Tom of Finland by Illpo Pohjola

Daddy and the Muscle Academy

DVD PAL 55 + 105 minutes, 2004 / 39 € b/w + colour, 2-layer DVD
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Tom of Finland is one of the gay world’s few authentic icons. His drawings have had an enormous influence on gay identity - not only on the visual appearance of gay people, but also on their attitudes and self-understanding. Daddy and the Muscle Academy is the only film ever made about Tom of Finland. The film uses a variety of visual elements, including a retrospective of Tom’s drawings, Tom of Finland in his own words, and Tom’s men and their stories.


Tom of Finland shows how Tom of Finland’s work passed from being the private fantasies of a man in Europe to underground images that shaped a generation’s ideas of how a gay man could look and act. - Tom’s work is a blueprint for the appearance and attitudes of gay men in the latter part of the 20th century. Toms ultimate leather men are known and seen all over the world.