Künstler*innenhaus Mousonturm

Post-war Germany is conservative and narrow-minded. Yet the blazing lights of Hamburg’s St. Pauli district shine merrily down on those who dream of a life unfettered. Night after night, whores and their johns, transvestites, thugs and artists, such as the still completely unknown English band the Beatles, wander the shabby streets like the “Große Freiheit”, high on Preludin and alcohol – yearning for counterculture and art, drugs and free sexuality. In 1962, Wolli Köhler – a young man in search of adventure – washes up on the shores of the neighbourhood and then goes on to become the most unusual brothel boss in the history of St. Pauli. Rocko Schamoni depicts Wolfgang “Wolli“ Köhler’s dramatic life as a coming-of-age story, based on countless conversations with the anti-hero himself.