[IMG:L]Most 4-year-olds have a few short term goals: maxing-out playtime, securing their next peanut butter and jelly fix, dancing with Dora and Diego, and squeezing in a little care time from surrounding love ones–and imaginary friends. Generally speaking, creating MoMA-worthy masterpieces just doesn’t top the list.
But most 4-year-olds aren’t like Marla Olmstead. Or are they? Fortunately–and unfortunately–this question lingers and haunts in Amir Bar-Lev’s controversial documentary My Kid Could Paint That, which centers on the debate over whether or not a 21st century art world prodigy has been born–or the biggest art world sham has come undone.
In a part-mystery, part-fantasy essay that shakes up notions of modern art, authenticity and the celebrity machine, Amir Bar-Lev introduces us to the compelling Marla Olmstead, who may be the most gifted little artist of our time–or a pre-schooler who may be her ambitious parents’ biggest pawn.
Hollywood.com: How does this movie about a child’s instant fame and modern art talk to modern-day celebrity?
Amir Bar-Lev: It’s kind of a thing that snowballs out of control. It’s a cautionary tale about how once you enter into the public arena, there’s very little that you can do to control your story. Other people now own your story.
HW: Was Marla’s fame foist upon her by her parents?
AB: I’ve always felt that really if there was some involvement in the paintings on the part of Mark Olmstead [Marla’s father], it was far less than a result of greed then a case in which story sort of snowballed out of control.
HW: With the film cut down to 80 minutes, what the editing process was like?
AB: There is a lot of great material that was left out. But one thing that wasn’t left out is material which would have swayed, in one direction, this question of the painting’s authenticity. The film works as a mystery story. If I had evidence that would’ve tipped it in one direction or the other, it wouldn’t have been fair for me to withhold that. I put in anything that I thought would bare on this issue.
HW: ‘Truthful’ evidence guides your story’s structure…
AB: What I think is satisfying is that there is no smoking gun. What there is … is a bunch of different evidence. Some that weighs in favor of the idea that she is the soul author of the painting, and the other side of the balance. Each person who watches the film has to add things up for themselves and decide which way the scales tip. When I do Q&As, people will say, “Wait a minute! She’s 4 years old. Of course her paintings are going to change over time.” Or, other people will say, “Of course she’s going to paint differently in front of the camera!” Even if an adult wrote a novel, and you said do it again in front of my camera–they probably wouldn’t be able to do it. All those things are true and you have to decide in your mind if there’s enough magnitude to tip the scales.
[IMG:R]HW: Would you buy a painting of hers?
AB: First of all, I couldn’t afford a painting of Marla’s. I do have two drawings that she made me, which I took home and pasted one on my fridge and one on my office filing cabinet–rendering them instantly valueless. But, they’re of more value to me as something that a kid made that reminds me of fun times I had with that kid, than something I’m looking at as an investment.
HW: Do you often wonder, “What’s going to happen to Marla 20 years from now?”
AB: Of course, I think a lot about what will happen to Marla. I’m concerned about Marla Olmstead. I struggled with whether or not I should actually move forward with the film, which is one of the reasons why I felt it was really important to get the story exactly right as I saw it. It’s one of the reasons we edited for a year. I hope that in 20 years, if Marla sees this film, she’ll feel that it was accurate.
HW: Documentaries evolve with their work. Was the finished film what you pictured when you started?
AB: In most cases, documentaries are an improvisation. People have this kind of negative response to the guiding of the story. They feel like if you guide the story a little bit, that you’re somehow being disingenuous in some way. There is no [way of] not guiding the story. That’s why I like the line of Tony Brunelli [Binghamton gallery owner who showed Marla’s work] where he says, “Everybody is trying to shape the story instead of just letting it be what it is.” You can never let a story be what it is. Nobody is going to sit in a theater for a year. That’s the only way you’d be letting a story be what it is. I took an entire year and turned it into an 84-minute movie. So, questions of ‘objectivity’ and being ‘balanced’ don’t necessarily have a place in the conversation.
HW: How did your professional editing background impact your filmmaking on My Kid?
AB: When you come from an editing background you can see how easy it is to manipulate things; and the fact that your material is going through this great funnel gives you this incredible power to twist things. The only thing keeping you from twisting them is your own sense of morality, really. Because the only way you get at “how” you want to represent the scene is having this inner-dialogue like, “Is that really how I experienced it?”
HW: How did you hear about this family?
AB: That’s an easy question. I read about it in The New York Times article you see in the film.
HW: What kind of impact did this have on you? At one point, you said you wanted to stop filming. And, in the final product, you’re in it.
AB: You can see [in the film] that I really felt torn–depicting the Olmsteads as I thought was accurate, and also wanting to depict them as they would like to be depicted. I had gotten footage which absolutely convinced me that she [Marla] was a genius, or on the other hand had I gotten footage of her dad doing a painting, it would have made it pretty easy. I would know that [Marla’s actual painting] happened on the film; or would know how exactly how to portray that family. But, I didn’t get that. What I personally struggled with: that this family’s reputation was–in some ways, at least in terms of my film–going to be radically impacted. I felt an obligation to spend a lot of time editing and get the story as accurate as I did see it.
HW: How has your own story changed?
AB: What’s really interesting on a personal level–challenging–is I’m now getting a taste of what the Olmstead’s go through … a little bit. Letting your story go public is sort of this devil’s bargain that you make. For me I want people to know about my film; but at the same time I relinquishing control of these words as I’m giving them to you. You can do a feature and say, “I had the displeasure of meeting director Amir Bar-Lev and he was an arrogant [so and so] …” I mean, and that’s your opinion! And I’m giving you that permission to do that. And you can take my words and you can kind of use them to make the point that you want to make. I’m allowing for that because I see value getting a mention of my film on your Web site. It’s very complicated and there’s a great irony at work.
[IMG:L]HW: What reaction did Marla’s parents have to your documentary?
AB: That’s an easy one: they are not happy with the film. They made a public statement*, which they sent with Elizabeth Cohen [a reporter seen in film] to the Sundance Film Festival. She and Tony Brunelli accompanied me to the festival. Tony, by the way, loved the film, which has been gratifying to me.
Editor’s note: we’ve included Marla’s parents’ official statement below.
*Laura Olmstead’s statement: When we met Amir Bar-Lev three years ago and he expressed interest in my daughter’s work, we welcomed him into our home and lives. But we were heartbroken by some of the choices he made in his portrayal of our family and the editing of this film. We feel the question of the authenticity of our daughter’s paintings has been answered. Marla has created many pieces on film, one of which, in Mr. Bar-Lev’s opinion, was in keeping with her best works. Our daughter is almost seven now, and has become aware of the skepticism surrounding her art, which confuses her, but also flatters her. In her innocence, she feels complimented by the idea that people think she could not compose her paintings alone. We have also felt dismayed by this, and it’s our hope the media will lay the issue to rest at last. The controversy over her authorship has been painful and humiliating for our family.
