‘Sturz ins Bergell’ (plummet into Val Bregaglia) was how author and travel journalist Annemarie Schwarzenbach (1908–1942) described the route from Maloja to Chiavenna – there is an almost 1500 meter difference in height between the Upper Engadine and the southern border valley. The breathtaking view of the 15 hairpin curves offered from the top of the pass (1815 m) will be difficult to forget. In a record time of 7 minutes and 35 seconds, Swiss racing driver and restaurant owner Rudolf Fischer (1912–1976) reversed up the steep southern ramp in his Ferrari on 31 August 1952. From the sixth and last Maloja motor race with thousands of spectators, he emerged victorious with an average speed of 87 km/h. In his video work ‘Sturz ins Bergell – Gegenrichtung’, Sebastian Stadler performs a reenactment of the spectacular race. On a spring night, a professional driver raced to Maloja Kulm, where the mountain race also had its end, in a Maserati (Granturismo Sport) equipped with a camera on the bumper. Unlike the race, however, the shorter route of which started in Casaccia and the longer route at Crotto Albigna in Vicosoprano, the tour started at Palazzo Castelmur. 
Because of the low perspective – meant in the most literal sense – the curves of this transit route, which is steeped in history and used daily by countless cross-border commuters, take centre stage.

Stadler’s video is not least also a homage to the fabled short film ‘C’était un rendez-vous’ by Claude Lelouch (born 1937) released in 1976. After having attached a camera to his bumper, the filmmaker raced through Paris – from Porte Dauphine to the Sacré-Coeur – in a powerful Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9 early one Sunday morning, also taking less than eight minutes. (Text: Céline Gaillard)