Tips Blues

Documentary / Canada / 2011 / 24 minutes
Language / English
Director/Writer / Mark O’Krafka (Filmmaker in Attendance)

A Night of Musical Documentaries

After 3 years of filming, young filmmaker Mark O’Krafka exhibits an intimate portrait of Mount Currie musician and storyteller Tip-Ta.

Tips or Tip-Ta is a seventy one year old elder of the Lil’wat First Nation, who after a long stint of city living decided to return to the land, and began living on a property just outside of the Mt. Currie Reserve; a property he inherited from his grandfather. One of the few remaining people in the world who speaks the Lower Lil’wat sub-dialect of the predominant language of the Interior Salish Peoples, St’at’imc, Tips often travels between the reserve and the communities of Pemberton and Whistler performing his unique form of blues.

In Tips Blues we get our first introduction to this modern-day minstrel who fulfills Mark’s boyhood dream: to move into the backcountry and live off of the land. Along the way we learn about far more than just the forest and trees, but through Tips’ quasi-monastic quest to inspire a betterment of inter-human and man-nature relationships, he teaches us about the mechanics of a culture’s melding with its ever-changing surroundings and struggle to persevere in the face of immense loss and adversity.

About the Filmmaker

Originally from Ontario Mark O’Krafka had the childhood dream of moving out the backcountry of British Columbia and living off the land. Now, having lived up and down the West Coast for the past eight years, Mark, currently attends the Vancouver Film School’s Writing for Film and Television Program, where he pursues his interest in people and the intersection of humanity and the natural environment.

Presenting Partner:

SCREENED TOGETER WITH
Live Tape