By paging through dozens of international covers, the teens are hoping to find pictures of themselves. In their free time, the young models will walk to the closest drugstore and spend hours poring over fashion magazines-but it’s not to catch up on the latest style tips. According to the film, this kind of deception is common, and while being too young is frowned upon by professionals in the field, there is an underlying understanding that if you claim to be of a reasonable age-even 14 or 15-no one will ask questions. Ashley also notes that “when you catch a girl at 12, when these girls are in these very delicate stages of their life, then you have more power…to guide and direct.” When Nadya is brought to her first castings in Tokyo, she is told by her agent to say she is 15, two years older than her real age. “There is a certain glow to the skin,” and “innocent” is always in style. According to Ashley, “you can’t be young enough” when it comes to selecting fresh faces. But her age-a tender 13 years-is nearing too old for a bankable model. “They can be athletes, they can be gymnasts, they can be ballerinas, they can be prostitutes…you are a beautiful girl who uses her body to make money so it’s kind of natural.” She continues: “It’s just normal to be a prostitute, for them…maybe it’s easier than being a model.”Ĭhosen specifically for her pre-pubescent looks, Nadya’s wide-set eyes and seductively pouty lips have just the right mixture of youth and sex appeal for a Japanese market. “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.

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