heyo laurent and caro!
so lets start with answering questions:
we absolutelly understand your point of wondering where to make the connection with germany. but, to say it very plain - we think there alreay is one and to create a new project on our side is not necessary - nor is it possible at his moment. i hope i can express myself in the right way, give me some time to explain:
when we thought of the project, for andreas and me it was clear that the project as we all worked it out, was only possible in france - as we wanted to work with a french symbol and we wanted to make an instalation in the streets. people in germany wouldnt know what the french symbol means, nor could they connect something with such an instalation in the street so we could not transvere it one to one to berlin.
so the germany connection in the project is: one: heimat.
we analyze the very german word with the people , try to tranlate it and let notgerman people speak about this very german - very international topic. two: we are german. we have a german approach to the french symbols and french state of things. we bring the outside point of view. in my eyes this is totally enough as a connection - we are a french-german team, marianne is french, heimat is german, we put both in a project and analize the terms with a strangers point of view and work with them.
there is no way to transfere this stage of te project to germany -but the outcome is very very interesting for germans. we - the germans- have a very ambivalent relation to our homecountry, to the word heimat too as it was missused and for some still has the taste of third reich propaganda. how do the french deal with this topic? our neighbours, our special friends (/as in german-french friendship), the french that have the same and different problems with imigration, that have such a different attitude to their state , an attitude we even envy in time - wouldnt it be nice to say - im proud to be german - once in a while. the french can do it without being missunderstood. this is very very interesting. andreas and i would like to analise the outcome of our parisproject with a berlin journalist, who is very enthusiastic about the whole project - she helped us to work out the questions too.
so it would be -germans go to france -create with french a project in paris - with will be analised in germany in realation to german state of things-
there is so much connection i can hardly follow.(even sylvia loves the idea)
next to this, there is no possibility for us here to create another project. for one as we dont have these symbols, two as we dont have the time to work out another concept and we will need all our attenion and love and strength to work on the paris project as you poor lads are much busier with other stuff, so that we will be able to work with the fotos and interview parts once we have them - they are the raw material, we can support you from germany working on it and you can support us from paris taking pix and doing interviews. that doesnt mean, we take over after the pictures are taken. only that we can comfortably work on the project in germany, we dont need to work in paris. oh i hope you get me right. i mean after we all worked out how we want to treat the outcomes of our fotosessions we can do a lot of work here and finish it, when you come to berlin. we only can not start before we got raw material.
and as another thing, i do have a project with is part of the immigration project. we might get to connect it with the paris project - maybe in the way we want to connect paris to germany. that the experiences and outcomes of this second project are used to work with in paris.
unfortunatelly it is too late now to book a bus for paris next weekend. at least not beginnig of next weekend.maybe for saturday -meaning we arrive early saturday morning - would that be possible?
i have to speak about it to andreas again too, if there is a point.
what do you think?does it make sense? it only makes sense if we have -lets say 4 women on which we can relie to take pix of and take interviews with. we need the technical stuff and we need the hat. is that possible?
andreas and i can stay longer too, its ok.
once we have the first 4 or 5 portraits and interviews we will be able to work on the next steps and we dont need to be there for every picture - we have absolut trust in you - your a so much better photographer than we are, i bet - but we should work on the first pictures together so we get a common idea of the look.

is that all ok with you?

if you say, there is no way for us to organize it till next weekend 7.th./8th. then we will have to come on the weekend after. no point in rushing things if then we can not work effectively. i was getting a bit panicky cause i realized that we are running out of time and once we made the concept we will have to wait for "raw material" to go on working.
could we speak via skipe tomorrow? i am aware there are so many questions still not answered and ideas still not discussed - would it be possible for you two to get together in front of the computer tomorrow evening and i and andreas get together and we can work it out precisly?
please, let us know what you think right away anyway, even before we skipe- so we can maybe book a bus or so.
let me know too when would be good for you to skipe.
o know im stressing - please forgive me - once we get the chance to talk im sure it will all be fine!
lot of love from berlin
little alex und der grosse andreas