Meet the team

The team behind the ‘Reconnection’ film

Maksim Varfolomeev

‘Reconnection’ film director

A ‘Reconnection’ director, DP and editor, Maksim Varfolomeev (1974, Omsk, Russia) has been working on TV as an editor since 1993. In 1998 he switched to commercials. After 6 years in advertisement in 2003 he shifted to Almaty, Kazakhstan, founded a production company and filmed a Self-realization (Samoosoznaniye) TV series running on Kazakhstan TV for three seasons. In 2005 he joined an international advocacy campaign for human rights in Kazakhstan as a director of communications and PR. In 2009 he returned to filmmaking and shifted to India where he founded Vrindavan Experience production company and a web community with the same name, while simultaneously studying Vedic philosophy and culture. He filmed and produced Glimpses of Vraja (2011, Vrindavan, India), Never Stop Chanting (2014, Dubai), Reconnection (2015, Vrindavan, India) and in 2016 ran a successful crowdfunding and SM campaign for a free release of the film. In 2017 he moved to Dubai and founded FIVE Pictures, a brand entertainment, film and design studio.
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Olga Avramenko

Film editor, scriptwriter and social media director

Olga Avramenko (1974, Omsk, Russia) has been working in a national publishing house and major newspapers as an editor and journalist since 1996. In 2003 she shifted to Almaty, Kazakhstan, where she joined a vedic farm eco-project to study Ayurveda and well-being. In the same year she joined Self-realization (Samoosoznaniye) TV-project, managing the production of a series running on Kazakhstan TV for three seasons. In 2005 she joined an international advocacy campaign for human rights in Kazakhstan as an assistant of director of communications and PR. In 2009 she shifted to India where she worked in Vrindavan Experience production company as a producer and editor. In 2011 she established an online-community with the same name, working as a social media director and SMM manager. As a filmmaker she produced Glimpses of Vraja (2011, Vrindavan, India), co-wrote and co-produced Never Stop Chanting (2014, Dubai) and Reconnection (2015, Vrindavan, India) while simultaneously studying Indian philosophy and culture.
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Armand Gachet

A lead actor of ‘Reconnection’

Armand Gachet (1975, Mauritius) was raised in South Africa, and after his studies started his career in advertising, graphic design and illustration. He spent several years in Vrindavan, India, assisting Food for Life (food relief campaign for the needy) as a designer for the fund raising of the project while studying vedic culture and practicing bhakti yoga. In 2001 he moved to Kazakhstan to help on an ambitious vedic farm project as a designer and a fund raiser. In 2003 he moved back to Mauritius and founded Unique Ltd, where he continued his professional career as a designer and artist commissioned for murals, live art and sculptures.

Govinda Swami

Featured in the film as himself

BB Govinda Swami (Sean O’Neil Hobgood, 1951, Nashville, USA) is a monk in a Vaishnava tradition, a tireless traveler and a gifted musician. His father Bob Neal was a first producer of Elvis Presley, Roy Orbison, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. Elvis would call young Sean “my younger brother”. Immersed in a world of music since childhood, Govinda Swami tries to combine modern sounds with the music of the soul in a genre known as kirtan. Govinda Swami and his band can be seen in crowded concert halls all over the world, including famous open-air events such as Woodstock in Poland, and at symphony concerts with philharmonic orchestras in Russia, South Africa, Ukraine. In 1976 Govinda Swami first visited Vrindavan, India, a central place to the Vaishnava tradition, where he spent years studying local culture and tradition, developing a strong connection with the place. Currently, Govinda Swami maintains a busy schedule traveling around the world conducting concerts, lectures, charity events, and helping people to discover the beauty of Vrindavan and it’s heart opening potency.

Radha Mohan Rajani

First Assistant Camera, Production Assistant

Radha Mohan Rajani (1993, Vrindavan, India) spent high school involved in projects related to film or photography, in 2009 he joined Vrindavan Experience project and worked on ‘Reconnection’ as a 1st AC and PA. In 2012 he moved to Mumbai to study Film and Audio. Two years of that time was spent taking photos, shooting short films and music videos and mixing live gigs for local bands. The next year he joined Sound.com, a live sound rental company, while continuing his studies to pursue live sound. Now he works there in a full time capacity, touring, travelling and working on every possible live sound event and show.