Girl Model follows a complex supply chain between Siberia, Japan, and the U.S. within the modelling industry. The story is told through the eyes of a scout and a 13 year-old model.

Despite a lack of obvious similarities between Siberia and Tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. GIRL MODEL follows two protagonists involved in this industry: Ashley, a deeply ambivalent model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a thirteen year-old plucked from the Siberian countryside and dropped into the center of Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley’s initial discovery of Nadya, the two rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound. As Nadya’s optimism about rescuing her family from their financial difficulties grows, her dreams contrast against Ashley’s more jaded outlook about the industry’s corrosive influence.

Awards

Marc'Aurelio Award for best documentary in the Extra Section & EnelCuore Prize , Rome Film Festival

Upcoming Festival Screenings

Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, NC
International Women´s Film Festival Seoul, Korea - April 19-26
19-26 Nashville Film Festival, Nashville - April 19-26
Wisconsin Film Festival, WI - April 18-22
RiverRun Film Festival, NC - April 13-22
Doxa, Vancouver, Canada - May 12, 4pm
Docaviv  Film Festival, Tel Aviv, Israel - May 3-12
Planete Doc Review Film Festival, Poland - May 11-20
ZLÍN 2012, Czech Republic - May 27 - June 3