(Screenshot courtesy of YouTube)

The life story of gay erotica artist Tom of Finland will be told in a biopic by director Dome Karukoski.

According to Deadline the film will tell the story of Tom of Finland, real name Touko Laaksonen, returning to Helsinki after the war. Laaksonen faces discrimination for his homosexuality, has secret affairs and is pressured into marrying a woman. He finds solace in his sexually charged art, which portrayed men as hyper masculine figures.

“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,” Karukoski said in a statement.

“The story shows how literally one person can create change in the world, even with something as simple as an artist’s tools,” Karukoski continued.

The cast of the film will be announced on Sunday at the Berlin Film Festival. Filming begins in Sweden this spring. The film has been sanctioned officially sanctioned by the Tom of Finland Foundation.