Leading Woman Films Presents
They Call Me The Tattoo Witch
For Your Consideration Best Documentary Short Film 98th Academy Awards
They Call Me Tattoo Witch: A Short Documentary
In Hanoi, Vietnam, tattoo artist Tran Ngoc specializes in the rare and challenging art of tattooing over scars. Despite the social stigma surrounding tattoos in Vietnam, Ngoc empowers her clients, including breast cancer survivors and women with self-harm scars, to reclaim their bodies, demonstrating that her work is a profound act of compassion and resilience.
They Call Me the Tattoo Witch has screened at over 50 international film festivals, including multiple Oscar-, BAFTA-, and BIFA-qualifying festivals. It premiered with an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run in Fort Worth, Texas, and has won over 15 awards. The film continues its festival run through 2026.
Oscar-Qualifying Selections (2025):
Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia
Doc Edge Festival
AmDocs Film Festival
St. Louis International Film Festival
Hawai‘i International Film Festival
Awards Highlights (2025):
Best Documentary Short– Carmarthen Bay Film Festival (BAFTA-Qualifying)
Best Documentary Short - Queens World Film Festival
Best Documentary Short – Imagine This Women’s Film Festival
Best Documentary Short, Best Direction, & Best Cinematography – Sherman Oaks Film Festival
Best Documentary & Best Cinematography – Worldwide Women's Film Festival
*Selected awards and festivals; full list available on request.
Inspiration
They Call Me the Tattoo Witch began after director Lindsay Nyman encountered the work of Tran Ngoc, a tattoo artist featured on the Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia list. Nyman developed the project in relation to Ngoc’s practice and the experiences of her clients, and the film was produced with an all-women crew in Hanoi. It follows Ngoc’s work tattooing over scars and the ways her clients navigate healing and self-expression. The project reflects an ongoing interest in ethical documentary practice and participant agency.
They Call Me The Tattoo Witch is now streaming on AMC+ and Sundance Now
Leading Woman Films
Leading Woman Films is an independent documentary practice dedicated to ethical storytelling and creative collaboration. Its work is grounded in participant agency, thoughtful process, and stories rooted in lived experience.
Featured in Deadline
Lindsay Nyman: Director and Producer
Lindsay Nyman is an award-winning filmmaker based between Berlin and Los Angeles, with a focus on global documentary work exploring identity, access, and gender. A graduate of UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, she began her career as a stage actor before transitioning to writing and directing film. She is the founder of Film By The Blind, an initiative supporting blind and low-vision filmmakers, and has developed documentary projects across Los Angeles and Southeast Asia.
Her debut short documentary, They Call Me The Tattoo Witch, was filmed in Hanoi, Vietnam with an all-women local crew. The film is currently screening at festivals worldwide, including several Oscar-qualifying events, and has received over a dozen international awards. Lindsay secured a grant from the Fort Worth Film Commission to support its Oscar-qualifying theatrical run in Texas. She is currently developing an emerging nonprofit initiative, and will begin an MA at Simon Fraser University’s School for the Contemporary Arts in Fall 2026, focusing on documentary ethics and participant-centered storytelling.
Lindsay Nyman
Founder of Leading Woman Films