Top models from the favela slums | M6 | 66 minutes

Up till now, Brazilian top models often came from the smart districts or privileged backgrounds. But for those girls from the shantytowns it’s hard to make it to the catwalk. Talent scouts never venture into those risky neighborhoods. Giselle, 22, is one of the rare models from the shantytowns to have made the breakthrough. Now she regular goes into the smart districts of Rio. Only, there are an awful lot of pretty girls in Brazil. For the moment, Giselle has just one advertising shot to her credit and she still lives with her parents. They earn less than ?150 per month and everybody is crammed into a tiny house. Giselle decided to help the kids from the favela to benefit from her experience. Every Saturday, in a room loaned by the local school, Giselle gives free classes. It may seem pathetic, but these classes, started four years ago, have pricked the curiosity of the Brazilian press. Cameramen and photographers attend the school’s first fashion show. It’s an opportunity not to be missed for the apprentice models. Fashion as a way out of poverty. A way of showing people here that you can escape your destiny: in Rio one inhabitant in three lives in the favela.