My Kid Could Paint That (2007)

A look at the work and surprising success of a four-year-old girl whose paintings have been compared to the likes of Picasso and has raked in hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Director:

Amir Bar-Lev

Stars:

Amir Bar-Lev, Laura Olmstead, Mark Olmstead

2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Amir Bar-Lev	...	Himself
Anthony Brunelli	...	Himself
Elizabeth Cohen	...	Herself
Jonathan Crosby	...	(voice)
Ron Curtis Jr.	...	(voice)
Michael Kimmelman	...	Himself
Laura Olmstead	...	Herself
Mark Olmstead	...	Himself
Marla Olmstead	...	Herself
Zane Olmstead	...	Himself
Celeste Russi	...	(voice)
Tara Sands	...	(voice)
Stuart Simpson	...	Himself
Jackie Wescott	...	Herself

Storyline

Four year old Marla Olmstead from Binghamton, New York became the sensation of the art world for her abstract artwork, which have sold for thousands of dollars per piece. The showing of her work started off as a lark, but when the paintings sold without the buyers knowing who the artist was, the media began to run with the story. Through it all, Marla's parents, Mark Olmstead and Laura Olmstead, want to be grounded in what is best for their daughter while exposing her to whatever positive may come from the experience. But some negative and big name media also surfaces, some questioning whether Marla is the real artist behind the work, and some questioning exposing a four year old to such infamy. Regardless, the fact of this art selling brings up the legitimacy of abstract art being quantified as "quality", especially if a four year old can produce it but can't express the emotions or rationale behind its creation. Or is art truly in the eyes of the beholder? Regardless, money, in the ...

---

Plot Keywords:

art | painting | artist | little girl | mother daughter relationship | 

---

Taglines:

Inspiration or Manipulation? You Decide.

---

Genres:

Documentary | Family | Mystery

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Mandarin

Release Date:

14 December 2007 (UK)

Also Known As:

Das Wunderkind? - My Kid Could Paint That

Filming Locations:

Binghamton, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$26,290 (USA) (5 October 2007)

Gross:

$231,274 (USA) (1 February 2008)

Company Credits

Production Co:

A&E IndieFilms, Axis Films, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Amir Bar-Lev: [when Laura starts crying on camera on being doubted] I'm sorry that I brought this into your house.
Laura Olmstead: [bitterly] It's documentary gold.

---

Connections

References Late Show with David Letterman (1993)

---

Soundtracks

"Cal's Bluedo"
Written by Cal Tjader

User Reviews

Well Done Documentary

We were very fortunate to have the opportunity to see this film at Sundance 2007. The filmmaker attended the (Salt Lake City) screening we went to, and graciously answered a lot of questions audience members had about it. As you can tell from the title and the plot summary, this was about a little 4 year old who seems to have a lot of talent for modern art. On the surface, there are a lot of questions raised about the nature of modern art, among other things, and that in itself would have made an interesting documentary. Refreshingly, about half way through the making of the documentary, 60 minutes did a story about this child and the result of that story changed the course of the documentary as well. I loved the way the filmmaker raised questions that he didn't answer...because he truly didn't know the answers. This was thoughtful and well done, and a thoroughly enjoyable filmgoing experience! I hope this has a measure of success.