When we filmed Masha in 2009, the scouts said that these girls - often poor in a society of extreme income inequality - are desirable not just for their looks but because they are malleable and easier to guide and direct. The Op-Doc also introduces Ashley Arbaugh, a former American model turned international model scout, who seeks out teenagers with her Russian comrades. Rural Siberia is a thriving location for scouts hoping to recruit teenage girls as young as 12 and export them overseas. Sometimes hundreds of girls audition at these model castings other times a few dozen show up. In this Op-Doc video we present Masha, a 13-year-old aspiring model who attends an open casting call in Siberia, Russia.
