Girl Model

I watched this documentary yesterday on Netflix. It shows the modelling industry where underage models from underdeveloped nations are sent to the developing nations with dreams of big bucks.
The documentary has been directed by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin and stars Ashley Arbaugh, Rachel Blais, Tigran Khachatrian and Nadya Vall.


Nadya is a 13 year old in a small town in Siberia. She has 2 younger brothers and her parents are poor. Ashley Arbaugh is a scout and travels to third world countries looking for models for the Japanese market. 
They are very specific about what they need- someone who is young, as young as 12/13 years of age, looks very innocent, has tiny breasts and narrow hips. Just typing that out makes me sick. She spots Nadya and offers her a contract which mentions that "gaining even 1 cm on the hips or breasts or waist will be a reason for termination of contract" and that the "contract terms can change on a day to day basis". Nadya is sent off to Japan alone and she does not speak English or Japanese. She is guaranteed that she will be given atleast 2 jobs and even more if the Japanese market likes her in addition to $8000. In fact, that is part of the visa policy in Japan. 
Nadya arrives in Japan and starts doing the rounds of agencies for casting because there is no job waiting for her. Everyday she faces a series of rejections. 3 weeks later, there is only one photoshoot for which she does not get paid and she leaves Japan $2000 in debt which her poor parents will have to pay. 
Another girl with her- Rachel is actually sent back even earlier because she gains 2 cm. 
Tigran is the guy who runs the model agency in Russia and Ashley is a former model turned scout. Both of them sound absolutely psycho. They go around committing the world to 13 year old girls and white washing reality.

I was shocked by this documentary. There are so many ways for a woman to be taken for a ride. 

This isn't an in depth documentary so very basic questions don't get answered. Are these girls deliberately getting taken for a ride? Is this an industry thing or a one off case? 

But all in all, it is a decent and shocking watch.