My Kid Could Paint That

At the age of four, Marla Olmstead became an art-world sensation when in 2004 a gallery in her hometown of Binghamton, New York, devoted a solo show to her abstract paintings. Soon collectors were lauding her talent and paying up to $15,000 a canvas. Was this “pintsized Pollock” a genuine prodigy or just a pawn of a manipulative market?

My Kid Could Paint That uses a simple story to explore complex questions about art, media and family. We witness journalists going on a feeding frenzy with Marla – from the fluffy touch of The Today Show to the suspicious investigation of 60 Minutes.

The film skilfully interweaves the perspectives of others drawn into the tale. Gallery owner Anthony Brunelli, a photorealist painter, has misgivings about abstract art, even though Marla is his greatest success. Local journalist Elizabeth Cohen, wonders if the subsequent coverage did more harm than good. As the mysteries and tensions grow, the film forces us to ask: What defines the value of a painting? The value of news? The value of friendship? These questions are bound to spur vigorous debate, just as art should.

Thom Powers, Toronto Film Festival Programme