“All the girls just want to get out,” Ashley says. But because modeling is a notably tough industry to enter, she says, the girls who are chosen from local castings often end up selling their bodies in a more literal manner. Here, seven revelations from the frightening documentary.Īshley, a former model turned scout, scours the Siberian countryside for fresh faces to feed the insatiable hunger of the Japanese market. Language barriers on “go sees” and one failed booking after another quickly turns Nadya’s young career into Japan’s Next Top Model from hell.
Her hours are long, often going days without time off at the commanding hand of her agent, Tigran. She lands in a pint-sized apartment, and shares a bunk bed and cloistered bathroom with another teen model.
According to the film, the cruel practices are widespread-though the film focuses only on Nadya, who has been plucked from her quaint life in the Siberian countryside with the promise of earning money to support her family with a fruitful modeling career in Japan.īut over the course of several heartbreaking months, she is mistreated in the chaotic and cold Tokyo fashion industry. A revealing new documentary, Girl Model, which opens in select theaters on Wednesday, details the life of the 13-year-old Siberian schoolgirl and the modeling scout who discovers her.
