Pontresina in the Winter of 1935 – or How Mr and Mrs Golay Made Films

Initially, it is not entirely clear whether the very first shot of the film shows wrinkled elephant skin or tracks in the snow. However, the title appearing over the scene, shot in black and white, reveals that it is a film about "Pontresina" – i.e., Pontresina in the "winter of 1935".

The roughly ten-minute-long film featuring various winter sports-related sequences was shot by the pharmacist and major Charles Golay from Pontresina. Or, to be precise: in his capacity as an amateur director, Charles Golay gave the instructions – and his wife Clara Golay filmed the wintry scenes with a hand-held camera. As their daughter, Ursula Mäxi Golay, recalls: "Father had an eye for a good shot, but he let others do the filming."

Graubünden's Cantonal Library (Kantonsbibliothek Graubünden) has digitised the winter-themed film shot in 1935. The only thing that is missing is Charles Golay's commentary of his film. However, it was not lost in the digitisation process. Charles Golay supplied live commentary during the screenings of his film – which, unfortunately, is a silent movie.