How Long Is “Girl Model”?

Documentary filmmakers David Redmon and Ashley Sabin offer this illuminating -- and often disturbing -- look at the challenges faced by young, aspiring Russian models determined to break into the fashion industry. Ashley Arbaugh is a former American model who has parlayed her experience in front of the camera into a lucrative job scouting young girls in Siberia. The lucky few whom Ashley selects to move on are then offered the opportunity to model in Japan. Ashley's latest discovery is Nadya, a 13-year-old, self-described "grey mouse" who possesses a striking natural beauty, and who endeavors to pull her family out of poverty through her modeling career. But upon arriving in Japan and attempting to navigate the strange new world without the benefit of speaking the language, Nadya and homesick fellow model Madlen soon realize that the experience is nothing like what they thought it would be, and that the work they were "guaranteed" back home seems frustratingly hard to come by. Meanwhile, surreptitious contract clauses stipulate that the girls could be quickly sent home at a moment's notice, and they wind up deeply in debt to the same company that promised them the opportunity of a lifetime.