MANCHE HATTEN KROKODILE

They got stranded years ago in Hamburg’s notorious neighborhood St. Pauli, trying to escape bourgeois constrictions, looking for work and a different life: as dancers, strippers, innkeepers, bartenders, sailors or pimps — they all muddled through. Now they spend their days in their favorite local bars and reminisce about the past. They recount looking for gold and sinking ships, about everyday life in their neighborhoods, and even crocodiles. And of course about the savings clubs where they are still members. If they had the money, they’d spend it with all their might, without giving any thought to the future. But in the savings box on the bar wall, their money is safe, from themselves. Money to make ends meet. The bar with the savings club has given them refuge throughout the years and has become a kind of home to them all.

Director

CHRISTIAN HORNUNG was born in 1976. After studying American Studies, Political Science and Media Culture, he studied Visual Communication at the University of Fine Arts Hamburg. His films include: DER NARR (doc, 2005), FREIHAFEN (short, 2006), EIN NACHMITTAG IM PARK (short, 2007), OHNE (short, 2008), GLEBS FILM (doc, 2010), and MANCHE HATTEN KROKODILE (doc, 2015).

Christian Hornung photos © Tamtam Film