The documentary film Girl Model opens in Siberia, Russia, where snow blankets the Soviet-era industrial landscape and hundreds of girls fill an auditorium. Clad in scant bikinis they appear nearly interchangeable, with alabaster skin and long hair, alternatively blonde and brunette. Even their ages become indecipherable. They could be 12, or 25. A number pinned to their bottoms identifies each as she is called forward to pose in front of a panel.
“She’s not for me.”
“I feel like her hips are too large.”
“Pimple problems. You have to treat that.“
“She’s nothing special, but maybe something will come up.”
“There are some cute girls though. There are some nice ones.”
Mumbling the final phrase is Ashley Arbaugh, an American who specializes in scouting Russian models for work in Japan, where the pre-adolescent, doe-eyed look is highly prized. On this particular trip, Ashley selects Nadya, a 13-year-old skinny blonde from a poor family, as an “Elite Star.” Nadya is rewarded with a contract that comprises a trip to Japan, where she is guaranteed at least two modeling jobs and $8,000 at the end of her term. As soon as Nadya arrives alone in Tokyo, however, the ruse is revealed. From here, the film progresses, juxtaposing her experience with Ashley’s present travels and her past journey from maladjusted model to seasoned scout.
It is a seemingly objective approach to an objectionable subject. Co-producers and directors A. Sabin and David Redmon present Nadya and Ashley’s stories in a straightforward, cinéma vérité manner at the same time they pointedly pull back the curtain on a shadowy system that at times too closely resembles human trafficking. Reaching far beyond the borders of Russia and Japan, Girl Model examines the dubious ethics of an international industry that at all levels seems to turn a blind eye to brazen labor and rights violations.
In anticipation of Girl Model’s debut on PBS on March 24, we spoke to Ms. Sabin spoke about her filming experience and some of the documentary’s most poignant moments.
Dossier: Who would you say are the most morally corrupt characters in the film?
A. Sabin: That’s something I’m going to leave open so the audience can come to their own conclusions. What was really important to us when structuring the story was not pointing fingers while showing the system that’s in place and how these different elements make something, like a 13 year old going to Japan, happen. It’s really not about pointing fingers, though I will say there are some pretty unbelievable statements that a number of people in the film make.
Dossier: Does it surprise you that a documentary on this particular aspect of the industry hasn’t been explored before? And does it surprise you that designers very high up in the industry refuse to comply with standards that the Model Alliance is pushing?
A. Sabin: Yes and yes. How can there not have been some sort of documentary to illuminate what’s going on in the industry? It’s not like this has been going on for a couple months; this has been going on for years. The girls didn’t necessarily come from Russia until the Soviet Union collapsed, but they came from Brazil or Norway, or wherever. I do find that bizarre, but at the same time the industry is pretty closed off. That’s why [these] things can happen continually, because [the fashion industry] is very secretive and mysterious. That’s what builds up the glamour and allure, but at the same time: What’s behind that glamour and allure? Well, there’s labor going on. There are rights that are violated. I don’t understand [the offending designers’] perspective. There are arguments that for the sake of art, they have artistic integrity. But for my own moral compass and how I draw lines and how I make art and films, I’m not going to violate human rights on the basis of calling it art. I don’t understand that kind of justification.
Dossier: At one point in the film, Ashley mentions that everyone has his or her own “vision of beauty.” Did you and David find your own visions of beauty being infected by what you were shooting?
A. Sabin: Yeah. In a lot of ways, I think that our vision of beauty is represented in the cyst [that is removed from Ashley’s uterus towards the end of the film]. That is kind of a dark thing to take away from an experience making a film about beauty that you think has glamour and light and mirrors. That’s why we had the cyst scene in there, because it’s what’s below the surface—and what’s below the surface is dark and grim and bleak and pretty gross. In a lot of ways, this film and our experiences are represented in that scene. That’s why our next film is about donkeys. If you can’t find beauty in humans, go to animals for a while.
Dossier: Have you seen or heard of any governmental action being taken to enact labor laws or child protections, in regards to the modeling industry, since the film’s release, either here or abroad?
A. Sabin: It’s in the process, I think. It’s a matter of people becoming aware of the issue. Right now, models are protected under the Department of Education, whereas child actors are protected under the Department of Labor. That is a big problem. The move is to get models protected under the Department of Labor because there’s more transparency; there’s more protection and the rules that are in place will be abided by. You look at child actors and this would never happen. They have tutors on set; they can only work so many hours; they always have to have a guardian with them. If those types of things happened within the fashion industry it would be fantastic. I don’t really know why the industry would resist it, unless it is about the bottom line, or control. I think most people would embrace it—or I would hope [they would].
Dossier: Ultimately, are you happy that you made the film?
A. Sabin: It depends on the day. I’m happy that the film is out there in the world and this issue is being talked about and that organizations like Model Alliance and Equity [in the UK] are formed and there seems to be more of a conversation around the modeling industry and the labor abuses that are going on. But based on my experience, I don’t know if I would ever do it again.
For more information on Girl Model please visit its Twitter feed: @girlmodelmovie or Facebook
