East Germany, 1988. 19-year-old Franka doesn't really care for politics. She prefers going to the disco and dreaming about seeing Bruce Springsteen and Michael Jackson live in concert. But beneath her carefree façade, she is scarred by the loss of her baby brother. But then she meets Stefan: He's young, idealistic, and part of an environmental activist group. A mix that makes Franka instantly make fall for him – and his group, which welcomes her with open arms. But this wild, revolutionary influence does not stay unnoticed: Her mother, who's with the Party, is worried about Franka. As Stefan's group loses the support of the church, leaving them vulnerable to the state, Stefan and Franka are soon in the government's line of fire…
Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.
