a&e features
Straight director takes on Tom of Finland
Telling the story of country’s infamous homoerotic export
‘Tom of Finland,’ from director Dome Karukoski, tells the story of the infamous homoerotic export. (Photo courtesy Protagonist Pictures)
I’m speaking with Finnish film director Dome Karukoski via phone. He’s in Europe shooting his new project, a biopic of “Lord of the Rings” author J.R.R. Tolkien.
“I’m in England,” he says. “Unfortunately, I can’t tell anything about that project other than that.”
Luckily for us, “Tom of Finland,” his recently completed feature telling the story of Finland’s infamous homoerotic export, is a lot more accessible.
Finland’s entry for the 2018 Academy Awards, having screened at Outfest this past July, premiered in major cities in October but opens in Washington Friday, Dec. 8 at Landmark E Street Cinema (555 11th St., N.W.).
The film is good — strong Finnish cast, traditional three-act structure, beautiful cinematography and some strong dialogue. When was the last time you heard a character declare, “My cock is the boss?”
Karukoski has always felt like he doesn’t quite belong. It’s a theme tying his oeuvre of seven feature films together. Yes, seven. And he’s only 40.
“I’ve always done films about people who are longing to find a home, either spiritual or a complete home,” Karukoski says. “A lot of my characters have been outsiders.”
Born on the island of Cyprus, he grew up in Finland. “I became bullied because I was an outsider. I traveled and I try to find a home, (but) it doesn’t really help when you travel 200 days a year.”
Touko Laaksonen (aka Tom of Finland) fought mightily for a home to call his own. He found it in the hills of Echo Park. Karukoski’s film uses the contrast of dim white light in Helsinki with that of sunny LA to accentuate the point.
“How did Tom feel arriving in L.A. in the late ‘70s?” Karukoski wondered. “We wanted to portray (the) feelings that he’s actually arriving into (a) movie world-slash-utopia.”
“That must have felt like liberation for him because his community had to hide in Finland.” The Nordic nation “was a really dark place at that time. It wasn’t legal to be gay until 1971.”
S.R. Sharp is vice president at the Tom of Finland Foundation. He and his “kinda like my boyfriend” Dirk Dahner run what can only be called the largest and most passionate fan club for the erotic artist in the world.
“We’re collaborators on the film,” Sharp says. “We went with a Finnish production company for obvious reasons.”
In some ways, Tom of Finland, like the artist himself, is the latest example of a fabulous Finnish export.
“Tom humbly admitted before he died,” Sharp says, that “he had a global recognition in the queer community, but he didn’t have very much recognition in Finland.” In addition to petitioning the Finnish government for a Tom of Finland postage stamp (approved in 2014), the Foundation “just came back from a Finland 100 celebration in Stockholm. People are much more aware of Tom of Finland.”
Karukoski, lead actor Pekka Strang, and the film’s art director all made trips to “Tom’s House,” as Sharp calls it, to bone up on what it was that made Tom tick.
“We pulled out work from the safe,” Sharp says. “It’s not framed. It’s the actual paper.” Even through the phone line Sharp’s voice conveys solemnity. The filmmakers “were able to experience how incredibly exquisite these pieces of work are.”
Karukoski acknowledged this.
“A lot of research was done (there),” he says. “Those were people that met Tom in the later part of his life, a lot of people that worked with him.”
Actor Strang returned to L.A. for the film’s premiere. Sharp has a wish. “Hopefully, he will be staying here at Tom’s House,” he says. “He’s been here a few times before, doing research … but I don’t think he’s stayed overnight … in Tom’s bed.”
If Strang brings his wife, that might be revolutionary.
Kake, a major recurring character in Tom of Finland’s work appears throughout the film as a private, only-seen-by-the-artist, tongue-in-cheek muse.
Described by specialty publisher Taschen, Kake is “a sort of post-Stonewall, hyper-masculine Johnny Appleseed traveling the world on his motorcycle to spread the seeds of liberated, mutually satisfying, ecstatically explicit gay sex.”
“It’s always a question of how do you show,” Karukoski says, “especially in films about artists, what’s going on in the artist’s head?”
Kake, which translates into “Butch” in English, is a fantasy character appearing throughout the movie. “The equivalent of the most beautiful man (Tom) can envision, (what) he wants every man to be.”
Kake “was also an homage,” says the director. “‘I think that’s something (Tom) would have valued.”
A scene from ‘Tom of Finland.’ (Photo courtesy of Protagonist Pictures)
Karukoski is not casual about filmmaking. He’s all about preparation.
Over a five-year period he traveled to the Tom of Finland Foundation.
“You learn,” Karukoski says. “When you are a straight director doing a film about a gay icon, you have to kind of rehearse your sensibility. You have to understand the beauty of a man’s neck, a man’s thighs or the bulge … just the portraiture of a man. … Basically, what is the appraisal of the dick?”
Karukoski got it right. His sexuality as director never intruded upon my experience viewing the film. I assumed he was gay. He’s not. He has a son, Oliver, with his wife Nadia. They live in Helsinki most of the time.
“I’m a straight guy … but I’m as gay as a straight guy can get.”
Really?
“Part of the research is also watching hot guys,” Karukoski says. “A lot, a lot of hot guys.” The director felt compelled to understand how his hero looked at men. Apparently, there have been some long-lasting effects.
“This morning I was walking with my assistant,” he says, “who’s a woman. We were walking in the studios and there’s a really good-looking guy. I said to (her), in Finnish, ‘That’s a hot guy.’”
And she says, “I was just thinking the same thing.”
A scene from ‘Tom of Finland.’ (Photo courtesy of Protagonist Pictures
a&e features
Summer in D.C. brings sports, Restaurant Week, festivals, and more
Summer in D.C. just hits different. Congress is out, school is out, the sun is out, thighs are out. With the skies clearing from Canadian smoke, here are a few ways to stay entertained.
Dining
Summer restaurant week: The Restaurant Association of Metropolitan Washington (RAMW) is once again hosting Summer Restaurant Week, Aug. 18-24. This weeklong dining experience showcases the dynamic dining scene of the DMV, including 2026 RAMMY Award-winning favorites (the annual D.C. food awards show that took place June 29). Participating restaurants will offer three-course brunch and lunch selections for $25 or $35 per person, and three-course dinners for $40, $55 and $65 per person.
New Restaurants: A handful of new spots have opened, so the summer is a great time to check them out:
- Oribu: A new Mediterranean-Japanese restaurant in the Grand Hyatt hotel, which just underwent a remodeling effort. The sleek restaurant brings upscale charm, with dishes like Wagyu beef tartare with potato pavé and caviar.
- The Oak Room: A snazzy old-school American grill has just opened in Georgetown, alongside its sister upstairs supper club (Bernadette’s) restaurant, in the old El Centro space.
- Uchi: This showy Japanese sushi-forward chain has landed in Dupont with a chef’s tasting menu of favorites like fatty tuna.
- Kathmandu: Recalling the capital of Nepal, this warm, buzzy subterranean restaurant right in the heart of U Street brings spice, flair, and rare ingredients to its dishes (see: buffalo burgers) and drinks.
Sports
- Washington Spirit Pride Night OUT: On Sunday, Aug. 23, head to Audi Field for a massive, high-energy game following the exciting month of World Cup. The designated Pride Night OUT game promises boisterous crowds plus pre- and post-game community engagements.
- Washington Tennis Open – Now called the Mubadala DC Open, this annual tournament is only combined mens’ and womens’ 500-level tennis tournament in the world. The open is one of D.C.’s longest-standing sports traditions, and will take place at the Rock Creek Park Tennis Center July 25-Aug. 2. Naomi Osaka, Venus Williams, Ben Shelton, Frances Tiafoe, and others are expected to play.
Festivals
- Afro Plus Fest: This huge, three-day Afro-Caribbean Hip-Hop Festival brings together headliners Davido, Alkaline, and Wizkid, plus Tems and Ayra Starr. The event moves from RFK to the Northwest Stadium Complex for three days, Sept. 4-6.
- Capital Fringe Festival: Running from July 11-21, this massive celebration features dozens of live theater, comedy, dance, and boundary-pushing nighttime performances across multiple DC neighborhoods.
- The National Book Festival returns, with headliners like Cynthia Erivo, and Martin Scorsese. The one-day festival, Saturday, Aug. 22, brings together bookworms and word nerds under the theme “America 250: It’s Your Story.” There are talks, workshops, musical sessions and more.
- All Things Go: A three-day festival Sept. 25-27 at Merriweather Post Pavilion featuring Mitski, Hayley Williams, Brandi Carlile, MUNA, Zara Larsson, Ethel Cain, and many, many more artists. There are single-day and three-day tickets. Featuring and highlighting female artists, the festival has turned into a must-see for many LGBTQ audience members.
- Fuchsia Fest: The inaugural Fuchsia Fest is a new multi-day celebration created to celebrate LGBTQ community and expression, bringing together a mix of community gatherings, entertainment, and nightlife. The event takes place Sept. 18-20 and is hosted by Capital Pride.
Art and Music
- United We Dance: A high-energy rave with house, techno, bass, and festival music, on Aug. 1 at the 9:30 Club.
- The Fray. On Aug. 14, this American rock band famous for How To Save A Life is at Merriweather Post Pavilion.
- Kesha: Kesha’s high-energy The Freedom Tour comes to the D.C. area on Aug. 14 at Jiffy Lube Live.
- ALOK: On Sept. 3 at Lincoln Theater, ALOK (they/them) performs. The poet, comedian, and actor is putting on a new comedy show.
- 2charm, the emerging Australian electronic club-pop duo popular with the queer community, which blends hyperpop and dance music, comes to the Atlantis.
- Sapphic Dance Party: a vibrant, inclusive nightlife and social event designed specifically for queer women, lesbians, bisexuals, trans individuals, and nonbinary folks, at Atlantis on Aug. 21.
- Jazz in the Garden: The most quintessential of D.C. activities returns Friday evenings through Aug. 14. This season’s theme, “American Sounds,” is a nod to the nation’s 250th anniversary. Tunes themes range from Appalachian and Americana to Creole jazz, Hill Country blues, contemporary jazz, and more. Tickets are available through a lottery system a week before each event.
a&e features
Tickets on sale for chef Patrick O’Connell’s book launch event
Sept. 18 kickoff to feature José Andrés, Tom Sietsema
Acclaimed chef Patrick O’Connell is preparing to publish his new memoir, “Main, Middle & Gay” in September and he’s launching the book with an event on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. at Lisner Auditorium featuring Chef José Andrés and former Washington Post food critic Tom Sietsema.
Tickets for the event go on sale Tuesday, July 21 at Ticketmaster; prices start at $55.
O’Connell, who’s gay, is the pioneering Michelin-starred chef and longtime proprietor of the Inn at Little Washington. He spoke with the Blade about the September event and the launch of his first memoir.
“I’ve known [Andrés and Sietsema] for more than 25 years and I have great respect for them,” O’Connell said. “I felt that it would allow us to add a different dimension rather than just have an interviewer. The chemistry will be fun and lively and unpredictable and exciting. I think we’re all different personalities and we’ll compliment each other.”
O’Connell has published cookbooks but this is his first memoir. The event will feature a short film that will highlight his work and the Inn.
“What I hope to do with the event is bring the book to life visually,” he said. “So we’re producing a short film that will be part of it. Most of the audience will not have read the book so it’ll give them a visual flavor of the book. It parallels the evolution of American cuisine over 50 years. It’s a rare perspective to be in the trenches for that long.”
The book’s title refers to the location of the garage on the corner of Main, Middle, and Gay streets in Washington, Va., where he launched his restaurant that became an international culinary destination.
The Blade will publish the rest of its wide-ranging interview with O’Connell in September in conjunction with the book’s release.
a&e features
The queer Asian comics building collective joy in D.C.
Spotlighting chaotic ways family, romance, identity take shape in their lives
Kevin Chen’s family tombstone has room for four: him, his parents and his boyfriend. The arrangement might prove to be a little awkward.
“My boyfriend is 100% white, and my parents are 100% disappointed,” Chen confessed.
Jokes about family traditions and the untraditional ways they’re practiced earned a burst of laughs at the bar where Chen was opening for the Pride Comedy Special. The D.C. stand-up event, produced by Comedy Bonfyre last month, spotlighted queer Asian comics who shared the chaotic ways family, romance and identity take shape in their lives.
From candid oral sex takes to top surgery hypotheticals like “Where do the boobs go?”, the night highlighted the loud camaraderie of the queer Asian experience — one that sounds like a cacophony of snorts, cackles and belly laughs. While the comics say they are not quite a community, there’s more than enough shared material to bring them together.
“It was such a magical experience. I loved performing in a queer API lineup. It feels so validating,” Chen said after the show. “I’m wondering, ‘Is this how white men feel all the time?’”
Each performance evoked queer Asian joy through a medium that could use more of its presence.
According to Chen, who is based in D.C., it’s hard to say whether there is a true queer Asian comedy presence in his city. There are only a scattered “handful” of Asian comics, and people of color are underrepresented in queer comic circles, he said.
When Tarunika Anand, a nonbinary lesbian comic, first entered the mainstream D.C. comedy scene, they mostly encountered straight white men, describing the experience as “a culture shock.”
“I feel like sometimes a lot of queer spaces are really white, and then a lot of Asian spaces are really straight,” Anand said. “I don’t feel like I fit into either.”
But feeling marginalized didn’t stop these comics from honing their craft and creating spaces for others like them. Alex Kim, who headlined the special and is based in Brooklyn, runs the queer Asian comedy group Boba Gays, which began on WhatsApp and has since made its way to Lincoln Center.
Every Wednesday, Anand co-produces a free comedy show called Funny Side Up. The queer-led group focuses on inclusivity and showcasing new talent.
“It’s really beautiful to speak about your experience and your existence in a way that’s uplifting,” Anand said.
Family is a major throughline of their comedic repertoires.
Chen, for instance, shared that he identifies with jokes about having Asian immigrant parents and the expectations they pass down.
“You see me, you know this part about me, you know this experience intimately, and I can see the truth that you’re trying to wrap a joke around,” he said. “That hits even harder because that’s my truth too. I think that’s what makes good comedy.”
Anand had the audience at the special howling when they explained that their parents’ be-more-like-them comparisons didn’t end when they came out. Instead, the expectations took on a new form.
“Now, my parents want me to be the best gay,” Anand said. “They’re like, ‘Do you know Ellen DeGeneres?’”
Kim said he’s been trying to unlearn things from his Christian Korean mom. Yet he described a moment when he was getting ready for the club and realized he looked just like his mother getting ready for church.
“I’ve been finding it hard to escape her,” Kim said.
Mutual recognition also radiates through the different ways queer love can take shape. From singlehood to death-do-us-part commitments, the comics cover just about every corner.
Anand is holding out hope for settling down with “a nice, pretty, Indian girl.” They recently went through a breakup and said they felt they dodged a bullet.
“As a person of color, I just don’t think I should be with a Swiftie,” they said.
Chen, touching on what it’s like to be in a queer interracial relationship, said that meeting his white boyfriend’s baby nephew for the first time felt like he was forced to participate in a diversity, equity and inclusion training.
“The dad was like, ‘Please welcome Kevin. Be curious about his culture, his history, his foods,’” Chen joked.
Laughter is not the only reward for the comics.
To Anand, comedy is a space where they can say whatever they want. “It gives me a voice,” they said.
Nik Narain, a North Carolina-based trans and nonbinary South Asian comic who performed at the special, said meeting older trans comedians and taking the stage helped him feel reassured in his identity during his transition.
“Stand-up was a really cool way to process that onstage,” he said. “[It] became a way for me to repackage my thoughts.”
Queer Asians are still figuring out their place in the greater D.C. comedy scene. The group is small in numbers and many are still working toward a full-time comedy career. But Narain feels he’s already made it.
Narain is reluctant to pin it all on one moment. He feels that success is already peeking through in milestones — opening for celebrities, traveling to performances and self-producing shows.
“As long as I can keep doing this, I’m super happy,” he said.
This story was produced as part of the AAJA VOICES fellowship program, a student journalism project of the Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA).
2026 International AIDS Conference to take place in Rio
Summer in D.C. brings sports, Restaurant Week, festivals, and more
Trump tries to scare Americans into not voting
No Pride without Disability Pride
House blocks effort to codify transgender servicemember ban into law
DOJ seeks to dismiss some claims in gay FBI employee’s bias lawsuit
PHOTOS: Vitamin C at JR.’s
PHOTOS: Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival
When buying a home, it’s decisions, decisions, decisions
