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“Reconnection” is a coming of age story of one westerners journey to a sacred Indian town of Vrindavan.
Available online for free after a successful crowdfunding campaign, this feature film has won 15 awards and has been screened at 25 International film festivals.

We encourage you to share the film with your friends. If re-uploading, please add a credit: ‘Reconnection’ by Maksim Varfolomeev​, five.pictures/reconnection

About the film:
An internet person, Sean Fletcher tries to run from a broken relationship by taking a trip to Himalayas, but finds himself stuck in a small Indian town that turns out to be an unusual place.

LEARN MORE:
five.pictures/reconnection

Arabic subtitles by Micheline Bou Sleiman and Sabine Farah
Chinese subtitles by Sakshi Gopal Caran
Hindi subtitles by Saurabh Sikka
Spanish subtitles by Patita-pavana

Bhutans other name is «The Happy Kingdom.» The small Himalayan country has one foot in the distant past and the other in the digital age. Its quite a balancing act for Bhutans citizens.

No other country has recently undergone more radical change than Bhutan. The millennium brought television, the internet and democratization to the last Himalayan kingdom almost overnight. The capital Thimphu has become one of South Asias fastest growing cities. At the same time, just a few kilometers to the north, 20 thousand nomads still live from herding yak on the high plains of the Himalayas. This documentary tells of the challenges these people face.

We meet young Chewang, who often has to leave his family for months and trek to heights above five thousand meters in search of the caterpillar fungus, a fabled medicinal mushroom. We also follows the journey of five-year-old Doryi, who is separated from his poverty-stricken family when they send him to a monastery. Meanwhile, the committed organic farmer Choki is trying to bring the advantages of modern life to her village. And 73-year-old bowman Ap Chimi is finding the modern world quite a challenge, so hes decided to compete in his last archery tournament to show youngsters in the village that he can still hit the bulls eye as easily as they do.
This documentary takes viewers on a trip through a time that mirrors Western development in the last century. The loss of a communal life in harmony with nature is juxtaposed against the gains made through globalization. Director Irja von Bernstorff, who has made her home in the Happy Kingdom, gives us a unique peek behind the countrys tourist façade to reveal what makes the wondrous world of Bhutan so special.

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Trek in Upper Dolpo Nepal — Circuit from Juphal through Phoksundo to Shey Gompa, Saldang, Shimen, Tinje and Charkha, then detour
⬇️more info below⬇️
due to October 14, 2014 storm back to Juphal via Dunai.
For a hi-res gallery of photos featured in this video see: goo.gl/hSkLPf
Instagram: www.instagram.com/jonathan_stewart_photos/?hl=en
Article from NYT about the storm: www.nytimes.com/2014/10/17/world/asia/hikers-blizzard-nepal.html

Logistics in Nepal courtesy of Adventure Thirdpole Treks
www.expeditionnepal.com

I use Sony cameras — For this trip the A99 and RX100iii.

Those who attend school in the mountain village of Kumpur, walk across the mountains of the highest situated country on earth. Nearly half of Nepals lies more than 4 000 Meters above sea level. Today its normal that the kids go to school in the valley, but just 50 years ago the village was completely self sufficient. Only if there was a lack of salt would someone twice a year hard off to refill the stock. Today the children go to the city almost on a daily basis and are immediately forced to cross the dangerous river. A village in distress is left behind. The village community Kumpur is spread across 18 farms on the Dhap Mountain. Their families live in a very remote area.

These families have lived on their land now for thousands of years herding their life-sustaining cattle without electricity, running water or contact to the outside world. Although they constantly ask themselves if the promise of an education justifies the danger of the path involved, they send their children day after day to school.

Twice a year the forbidding journey to the boarding school is necessary. Father Latak, looks to the sky and attempts to predict how the weather will develop. Only when he is sure that no storm is brewing, he starts to prepare the children for the trip over the river. It is a route that is so notorious, that it even has a name: Chadar- the path over the cloak of ice. One last time, his ten year old son Motup, plays in front of their hut. Motup is one of the few kids who regularly leave the village in order to attend one of the the better schools in town. Then the family gets ready for the long trip. The mother has sewn thick wool socks for the father and the children, and Tebean prayers and mantras are recited for protection along the way. Then the trip begins, where the children muss trust completely the experience and skill of their father.

The first steps, only a few kilometres until the frozen river, seem easy for the family. But father Latak recognizes immediately that the spring has come early this year and the sun has already began to compromise the ice. This is not a good sign, since the thinner the ice the more dangerous the trip becomes. Latak goes before the children and tests with a stick before each step on the ice. Often the ice cracks a bit, but the ice remains whole. Latak knows that no one should travel the Chadar without a good reason. But the education of the children is a good enough reason to take on the risks involved.
He knows that if he goes first and the ice carries his weight, that it will also carry the weight of the children. If it does not, it will be he that will fall in the icy water and not his two children. At the same time, Latak, Motup and the other members of the crew must keep a close eye on the mountains. The massive mountain ranges on both sides of them seem to be a scene form a picture book, peaceful and lordly. But there is danger lurking. At any given time, an avalanche can break out. Many times before people have been caught by avalanches here.

In the mean time the sun has already thawed the middle of the river. But since there are steep rocks right and left, Latak must now search for a new path for them to continue on. He leaves Motup behind him and luckily finds a way. It is a 20 cm wide path on the rocks at the edge of the river, and up to ten meters high.

They need almost an hour, skipping from rock to rock until they finally reach an area where the river is again covered with ice. Now they must find a place to set up camp as soon as possible before it becomes dark and the temperatures sink to as low as -30 degrees Celsius. Latak knows a cave where they will be protected and finally be able to get some rest. They must gather their strength because the most dangerous part of the Chadar still lies before them.

The ice is almost completely melted. Only a 50 cm wide strip borders right and left the ice-cold water, making the river absolutely impassible. Rocky overhangs above the ice block the way. Father and son must now crawl its way to school. Father Latak tests his way over the ice on his belly. After any progress made, he pulls his son by their hands to him.

There are countless dangerous situations that make this way to school so unpredictable. But after four days it is over, they have reached their goal; the city of Leh and the school.

This is a video chronicle of a Lindblad Expeditions/National Geographic voyage of West Africa. 16 countries in 34 days starting in South Africa and ending in Morocco. I shot and edited this video onsite as the trip was happening. I have no control over the locations we went to. I simply made a video of their experience.

Today we began our Kartika parikrama in Mayapur by visiting Nrsimha Palli and HariHara ksetra, two special holy places in the Dhama. There we discussed the glories of both Lord Nrsimha and Lord Siva. The spiritual atmosphere of these places was overwhelming and more so due to the ecstatic Kirtan’s we had! So much mercy is available in the places of the Lord’s pastimes.

Ten days into the auspicious month of Kartika we visited Chandra Sarovar, one of the many lakes  surrounding Govardhana Hill. It is situated on the long, outer parikrama-marg of Govardhana Hill that extends for over 40 kilometers. It was the pilgrimage route most often taken by Srila Sanatana Goswami 500 years ago. There are many pastimes that take place at Chandra Sarovar, including Krsna’s springtime Rasa Lila dance with the gopis.  It was there that the gopis sang their famous Gopi Gita, expressing their deep feelings of separation from the Lord.  At Chandra Sarovar one can also take darsan of the samadhi of the famous Vaisnava saint, Sur das.

Preparations are in full swing for this year’s Polish Woodstock festival — renamed the Pol’and’Rock festival. Two and half million young people are expected. Our devotees are busy setting up our famous “Krsna’s Village Of Peace.” Devotees are arriving from Russia, Ukraine, Hungary, Croatia, Macedonia, France, Germany and a number of other countries. It’s the 25th year of the Pol’and’Rock festival and the whole area is buzzing with activity. Many people are arriving early and all of them are asking when we’ll start our food ( prasadam ) distribution. We’re almost ready — most of the 48 tons of foodstuffs we’ll use to distribute approximately 160,000 plates of prasadam has arrived. And our kirtan tent is ready to resound with the holy names day and night. A massive maha yajna is about to begin. I have no doubt the demigods are also arriving in their flower airplanes!

The Most Sacred Place

A few days ago our parikrtama party visited Radha Kunda, the most sacred place in the universe. We approached Srimati Radharanis kunda with all the humility we could muster and bathed in the sacred waters. We also listened to a discourse on Radha Kundas glories and relished kirtan and prasadam afterwards.