A quick note on the documentary girl model spirit of the. Girl model strips away the facade of the modeling industry by following two people whose lives intersect because of it. Underage model and star of girl model documentary is humiliated by the film a teenage model who was followed by a film crew for a documentary about underage girls in the business has expressed her anger about the way she was portrayed. The documentary girl model details how the industry grooms young russian girls to become models in japan. Girl model, a documentary on the industry the new york. It stars victor polster, in his acting debut, as a trans girl who pursues a career as a ballerina. Trailer girl model this provocative film is a lyrical exploration of youth, beauty and ambition, seen through the eyes of a conflicted american scout and. Young russian girls join a modeling agency to seek work in japan and find themselves caught up in an unregulated system that reveals an unseemly side of the fashion industry. David redmon and ashley sabins provocative documentary explores this dark, seldomseen segment of the modeling industry through two primary subjects. Ashley, a former model and now scout who scours the siberian countryside looking for fresh faces. A model citizen is a caring mother, all in service of a scrappy, young boy or girl. Girl model this provocative film is a lyrical exploration of youth, beauty and ambition, seen through the eyes of a conflicted american scout and a. Girl model, a documentary on the industry the new york times. Nichols identifies six different documentary modes in his schema.
Girl model is a documentary film from directors david redmon and ashley sabin. A new documentary follows a modeling agent and his scout, former model ashley arbaugh, as they export young russian girls to tokyo to. Makers of girl model documentary respond to nadya vall. A model child raised by a model family, to become a model citizen of. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. It begins on a monotone day in siberia, where young girls awkwardly pose in. Girl model, a documentary by ashley sabin and david redmon, is told through the eyes of a yearold siberian girl and the american scout who discovered her. Official selection festival internazionale del film di roma 2011 official selection abu dhabi film festival 2011 official selection international documentary film festival amsterdam 2012 girl model explores how young girls are discovered in obscure corners of the globe and initiated into the high stakes modeling industry. When nadya vall found herself alone in japan, she soon discovered that no one was going to provide for her food. Ashley is a deeply conflicted american model scout, and. With ashley arbaugh, rachel blais, olivia arben, tigran khachatrian. Documentary mode is a conceptual scheme developed by american documentary theorist bill nichols that seeks to distinguish particular traits and conventions of various documentary film styles.
The opening shot of the film basically tells us our tale a tracking shot through a herd of bathingsuit clad and 14year old girls crowd a room in siberia the coldest fuck place on earth where model agency scouts measure them, assess their desirability for. In general, i love documentaries but not those with animals. A model scout calls models onebyone to the stage and begins commenting on their weight, body shape and signs of acne. And the sign said the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls and whispered in the sounds of silence simon and garfunkel. Confined in an apartment from a new york housing project. Parents need to know that girl model is a documentary that chronicles the slightly seedy underbelly of the international fashion model industry. Documentary is another voice in the underage model. Filled with shocking scenes depicting sad truths and despicable lies, this documentary attempts to portray the shocking and lucrative world of modeling. Girl model tags along with nadya as she fumbles her way from casting session to casting session, with no money and no way to talk to the people who are supposed to be paying her. A documentary on the modeling industrys supply chain between siberia, japan, and the u. Ashley, a former model, recruits young girls like nadya for international modeling agencies. Girl model is a 2011 documentary film following ashley, a conflicted model scout recruiting young siberian girls to model in japan, and nadya, a recruited yearold who gets financially taken advantage of during her modeling work in japan. Girl model, a new documentary which debuted earlier this month at sxsw, has already caused quite a stir for its bald portrayal of the modeling industryspecifically the industrys practice of.
Watch girl model, the documentary by david redmon and ashley. Nadya vall is barely a teenager at the start of the film but hers is the single most mature voice in all of girl model. Girl model follows a complex supply chain between siberia, japan, and the u. Girl model follows two protagonists involved in this industry. Girl model cuts through ones preconceptions of the industry by following a painfully young russian girl and the talent scout who finds her, documenting one round in an endless dance of seduction, betrayal, and emotional and financial abuse. Ashleys teenage self tells her story in a chilling video diary, revealing truths that nadya will have to. Human beings are definitively more interesting than any other species. The film follows yearold siberian model nadya vall through the. Girl model is a 2011 documentary film following ashley, a conflicted model scout recruiting young siberian girls to model in japan, and nadya, a recruited. Girl model david redmon and ashley sabin, usa, 2011, 78 mins saturday may 12 4. Documentary girl model reveals underbelly of modelling world. The complicated backstory behind new doc girl model. My first thought as i watched the opener was, my god, what have we done to girls and women in our society.
Girl model, a new documentary on the modeling industry. Girl model focuses on russian girls in japan, but the issues raised in the documentary are industrywide, says blais. The story is told through the eyes of a scout and a yearold model. Learn more about the making of girl model and the international modeling industry. Despite a lack of obvious similarities between siberia and tokyo, a thriving model industry connects these distant regions. In an industrial siberian village, underwearclad girls parade around a gymnasium as ashley arbaugh, a deadbehindtheeyes modelturnedscout. Girl model, the haunting documentary that follows yearold modeling hopeful nadya vall and jaded modeling veteran and scout ashley arbaugh, poses many questions. Model scout ashley, whose job sees her travelling between russia, china and japan on the hunt for potential young pinups, is the linchpin of the acclaimed documentary girl model, in. Girl is a 2018 drama film directed by lukas dhont, in his feature debut, and written by dhont and angelo tijssens. A documentary about young women who have been drawn into the sex trade and how easy it is for a websavvy generation to end up making porn. Girl model, a new documentary which debuted earlier this month at.
Underage model and star of girl model documentary is. Teenagers pack a van full of beer and go on the road in search of sexual adventures. Their documentary girl model premiered on pbs march 24 and i watched it this weekend on netflix. Official selection international documentary film festival amsterdam 2012 girl model explores how young girls are discovered in obscure corners of the globe and initiated into the high stakes modeling industry. Distraught by her gay friends death, a young dutch woman travels to her dead friends small american town to make a documentary about homosexuality in bumblefuck usa. Ashley is a deeply conflicted american model scout, and yearold nadya, plucked from a remote siberian village and promised a lucrative career in japan, is her latest discovery.
Theres no objectionable language and half of the film is subtitled, but there are definitely sexual. When i say girl model is bleak, im not just referring to the barren landscapes of siberia. Ashley arbaugh, a former model and now scout who scours the siberian countryside looking for fresh faces. This film is a very real and disquieting portrayal of a corrupt industry, showing whats underneath the allure of expensive clothes and magazine covers. Ashley deems her practice an addiction and the cyclical nature of the movie confirms that diagnosis. Shot by ashley sabin and david redmon, the film follows a model scout seeking fresh faces for the japanese market and yearold nadya vall.
She says she loves her freedom, even while she despises the industry that makes it possible. The film follows a model scout as she sorts through girls in russia to take back to an agency in japan whose owner cant answer why he brings the girls to japan if the. Girl model is a powerful documentary that, with a wider scope and a bit more shaping, could have been even more powerful, perhaps unbearably so. The film is portrayed through the eyes of the model, a thirteen year old russian girl, and the american talent executive that.
Girl model documentary shines a light on the underage model biz. Between siberia and tokyo, scouts and agencies scouring the russian countryside to find fresh faces for new girl models for the hungry japanese market in. Beautiful siberian girls are shown desperately trying to impress a modeling scout to score a contract to japan. In girl model, unseemly side of the modeling industry. Girl model explores how young girls are discovered in obscure corners of the globe and initiated into the high stakes modeling industry.
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