Talking Guitars

An intimate portrait of master guitar craftsman, Flip Scipio. “Music is like Esperanto” to him. This behind-the-scenes music-documentary illustrates the fascinating juxtaposition of the quiet artist and the world of musicians who seek his expertise. His clients include Jackson Browne, David Lindley, Ben Taylor, Paul Simon and Carly Simon. The film is a musical journey with Scipio between his visits at his clients, his workshop in New York and back at his parents’ house in the small town of Heiloo in the Netherlands. What is behind the passion and motivation of this great guitar maker? According to his parents, Flip’s career started when he accidentally broke his grandfather’s mandolin. His customers praise the magical sound of his guitars. Paul Simon fell in love with an unfinished electrical Scipio-guitar. To describe the magic of Flip’s craftsmanship Jackson Browne remarks, “He is an obsessive person.” -And Leni Stern asserts that, “He talks to the wood”. Scipio himself is thoroughly down-to-earth about his work; “I feel that I’m just a tool rather than being someone who creates things.”