Disturbing, Intriguing Documentary: Girl Model

First Run Features presents the U.S. theatrical premiere of Girl Model, by acclaimed filmmaking team David Redmon and Ashley Sabin. Told through the eyes of a 13-year-old Siberian girl and the American scout who discovered her, Girl Model follows a complex global supply chain of young girls sent abroad to seek their fortunes in the unregulated and often murky world of the modeling industry.

Recently released in the U.K., Girl Model has garnered overwhelming critical acclaim for both its provocative subject matter and its realistic portrayal of what many think is a glamorous profession. Girl Model will have its U.S. theatrical premiere on September 5 at the IFC Center in New York, in the midst of Fashion Week, followed by a nationwide release to select cities.

Girl Model follows two protagonists involved in the modeling industry: Ashley, a model scout who scours the Siberian countryside looking for fresh faces to send to the Japanese market, and one of her discoveries, Nadya, a 13-year-old plucked from her rustic home in Russia and dropped into the center of bustling Tokyo with promises of a profitable career. After Ashley’s initial discovery of Nadya, they rarely meet again, but their stories are inextricably bound. As Nadya’s optimism about rescuing her family from financial hardship grows, her dreams contrast with Ashley's more jaded outlook about the industry's corrosive influence.

Girl Model is a lyrical exploration of a world defined by glass surfaces and camera lenses, reflecting back differing versions of reality to the young women caught in their scope. As we enter their world, it resembles a hall of mirrors where appearances and are deceiving, and there is no clear way out. Will Nadya, and the other girls like her, find help in navigating this maze, or will they follow a path like that of Ashley, who has mastered the labyrinth but is unable to escape the modeling lifestyle?

About the Filmmakers

David Redmon and Ashley Sabin have produced, directed, edited and photographed six feature documentaries: Mardi Gras: Made in China (2005), Kamp Katrina (2007), Intimidad (2008), Invisible Girlfriend (2009) and Girl Model (2011). Their intimate and intricately crafted documentaries have won a variety of film festival awards, and their work has aired on television stations throughout the world. Redmon received his Ph.D in sociology from the University at Albany, State University of New York. In 2010/2011 he was a Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard University. Sabin received her BA in Art History from Pratt Institute.

Girl Model received funding through the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program, Cinereach, Puffin Foundation, Harvard Radcliffe Institute, IFP, Chicken and Egg Pictures, and The Fledgling Fund.

GIRL MODEL U.S., 2011, 78 min, in English, Russian and Arabic with English subtitles. Directed, Produced, Cinematography by David Redmon and A. Sabin. Consulting Producer:  Marcy Garriott and Robert Garriott. Edited by David Redmon and A. Sabin. Second Editors:  Darius Marder and Alan Canant. Original Score: Matthew Dougherty and Eric Taxier.

Source: http://firstrunfeatures.com