Campus - 05.06.2025 - 14:30
Only once in ‘Eile der Zeit’ do we briefly see a smartphone, when a young woman looks at potential dates on Tinder and swipes them away in a fraction of a second (‘No... No... No... Hm... Yes... No...’). Otherwise, analogue and archaic objects dominate, such as vinyl records, cigarettes, Bialetti coffee pots, notebooks and an old printing press.
The short film could also be set in the 1980s, but it was shot in St. Gallen in the summer of 2024.
The nostalgic touch is no coincidence: "I want to encourage people to think about digitalisation. Its influence on our social lives is often negative. We are under more time and presentation pressure and are less able to live in the moment,‘ says Paul Grivelet, director of the film and HSG student.
The 23-year-old is currently completing his bachelor's degree with a thesis on the future of arthouse films. ’I wanted to make films myself from an early age. To make a film successful, you have to understand and use the film market in such a way that it appeals to audiences and gains recognition without losing its cultural integrity." That was one of the reasons why he came to the HSG to study economics. Alongside his studies, Grivelet works at the film distribution company DCM, which specialises in arthouse films.
Grivelet has now created a cinematic monument to St. Gallen, his home for four years, with the 20-minute film ‘Eile der Zeit’ (The Haste of Time). The actors speak in the St. Gallen dialect, and familiar places such as Drei Weieren alternate with trips on the city bus, plus a kiosk in the Linsebühl district and the once legendary record store Bro Records. ‘Many of my friends in St. Gallen say I've created a romantic portrait of the city,’ says Grivelet, who comes from Bordeaux. But he wasn't aiming for idyll, ‘I just filmed a lot of places that I liked best,’ says the filmmaker, who now lives in Zurich. His short film premiered at the St. Gallen Kinok in May and is now set to be shown at various festivals.
The film follows a young woman named Jara through a day in her life. At the beginning, she encounters an eerie creature in a dream, the Sand Woman, who calls Jara a daydreamer. Later, Jara meets a young man named Ziggy – played by Grivelet's twin brother Quentin – at Bro Records. He invites her to meet up later that evening. In the afternoon, Jara helps out in the workshop of St. Gallen artist Martin Amstutz, who works with a historic printing press. In between, news reports come on the radio, the sole content of which is that it will now rain for ten days in St. Gallen. Suddenly, Jara realises that she is late for her date and sets off – at the end, the film has a punchline that many St. Gallen residents will probably have experienced themselves. The story behind the film is that director Grivelet met Jara Wammes, as the woman is also called in real life, by chance in St. Gallen – here, too, the film stays close to reality.
Grivelet put a lot of passion into his film project. He financed the 5,000 Swiss franc budget himself, partly with money he inherited from his grandmother. He dedicates the film to her in the opening credits. ‘We shot everything in three days, which meant we had a very tight schedule.’ Grivelet operated the camera and was the director. ‘Doing both at the same time was challenging, and I learned a lot in those three days,’ he says. He was only assisted by two professionals for sound and lighting. ‘The rest of the team, including the actors, were amateurs. They were all very important to the success of the project.’
Otherwise, he was able to count on support from the HSG and St. Gallen: retired HSG professor Yvette Sanchez put him in touch with important contacts and fellow students, and acquaintances from St. Gallen took on small roles in the film or helped out with other tasks. A large part of his network was built up during Grivelet's two years as president of the student association Pro Arte. The association aims to promote access to art and is one of around 140 student associations at the HSG. ‘During this time, I got to know many interesting people both inside and outside the HSG thanks to ProArte,’ he says. In general, he says, the HSG is a place that gives creative people many opportunities to make a difference.
His own future after completing his bachelor's degree is still open – his dream is to eventually become a film director. But he is also interested in other roles in the film industry. Grivelet, it seems, is consciously not letting himself be swept away by the haste of time.
