This article stopped me in my tracks, not just for its subject, but for how clearly it shows what documentary filmmaking can do when empathy leads the process.
Deadline just spotlighted the Oscar-contending short documentary They Call Me The Tattoo Witch, directed and produced by Lindsay Nyman. The film profiles Tran Ngoc, a tattoo artist in Hanoi whose work centers on something most artists avoid: scar tissue. Instead of hiding scars, she studies them, listens to their stories, and incorporates them directly into her designs, transforming wounds into chosen, meaningful art.
What makes this such a powerful filmmaking case study is how intention shows up at every level. The film isn’t about tattooing. It’s about reclamation. It’s about agency, healing, and identity, especially within a culture where both scars and tattoos carry stigma. Ngoc’s studio becomes a sacred space where people confront trauma and walk away lighter, not because their past is erased, but because it’s embraced.
From a craft perspective, there’s so much to learn here:
Choosing a subject whose work already contains visual metaphor
Letting clients be collaborators rather than “subjects”
Building trust and intimacy on camera without spectacle
Aligning crew values with story values
Nyman also assembled an all-female crew in Hanoi, something rarely done there. That choice shaped the environment, the conversations, and ultimately the film itself. It’s a reminder that how you make a film is inseparable from what the film becomes.
Read the full article here:
https://deadline.com/2025/12/they-call-me-the-tattoo-witch-director-lind...
Watch the trailer here:
For filmmakers: when you think about your own projects, how often are you asking who the story serves and how your process supports that story? And where might you be able to lean more into empathy as a creative tool?
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Ashley Renee Smith OMG I saw this film at the Atlanta Women's Film Festival, and it captivated me absolutely, utterly, it is spectacular. Cannot say this enough. When I first think of the idea, after the rush of adrenaline, and the excitement of it being either unique or funny or wild, then, I go, ok, so, how can this serve? What's the inspiration, the message, the story, who can it help, or spotlight, what does it do...
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My story, The Disabled Puzzle: A New Life, is entirely about developing empathy toward disabled people—but not just empathy. It aims for real understanding of their suffering.
I believe empathy alone is often only an emotional reaction, when we feel sad and cry for someone’s pain. True understanding goes beyond emotion; it sparks change and leads to real action—real help and tangible impact—to make disabled lives safer and better.
I have fully written the book in Arabic, and I plan to rewrite it in English and adapt it into script format. I hope this story can create meaningful impact and drive real change in disability awareness.