Year
2023
Original title
Seu Nome Era Gisberta
Format
Immersive / 360° Video | 2D
Duration
30 min – Documentary
Themes
LGBTQIA+ / Social Activism
Language
Portuguese with English Subtitles
Seu Nome Era Gisberta / Her Name Was Gisberta is a VR/2D documentary that portrays the life and death of Gisberta Salce, a Brazilian Trans woman murdered by 14 young men (12 – 16 years old) in the city of Porto (Portugal) in 2006. Uniting the knowledge provided by Virtual Reality Perspective-Taking Tasks, this project was created as a tool of education, social intervention and activism against transphobia.
“Surprises me to be alive myself. Considering my path, the most likely scenario would have been for me to have been murdered, like Gisberta, like Venezuela, like so many others who remained anonymous.”
Jó Bernardo
(Portuguese Trans Activist and Gisberta’s friend)
Watch the Project
Her Name Was Gisberta (360/VR) — Portuguese with English subtitles — VR Headset / Tablet / Smartphone
Her Name Was Gisberta (2D) — Portuguese with English subtitles — Any Screen / Smartphone
Seu Nome Era Gisberta (360/VR) — Portuguese — VR Headset / Tablet / Smartphone
Seu Nome Era Gisberta (2D) — Portuguese with Portuguese subtitles — Any Screen / Smartphone
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From the creators
With all our hearts, we wish this XR experience/documentary had never existed.
This experience should be a celebration of Gisberta’s extraordinary life, narrated by her own voice and co-created with her.
Gisberta should be here, wearing her Texan boots and telling stories, like she always loved to do.
All we have instead is silence, sadness, anger and an unsolvable puzzle of what really happened with her.
In 2024, the building was demolished and now Gisberta has a street named after her.
But nothing will ever be enough.
So, presenting this project is bittersweet…
In a world where LGBTQIA+ rights, especially for trans people, are still a daily struggle and where we witness so much violence toward trans lives, we believe it is our responsibility to keep creating, mediating, and educating for better coexistence and social justice.
Brazil remains an unfortunate epicenter of Trans assassinations globally for the 16th year in a row (ANTRA, 2025).
This project was created by a team of three LGBTQIA+ creators [Sérgio, Alexia, and Pedro] without any financial or technical support but with a lot of dedication and respect.
Drawing from thorough research and interviews with close friends, LGBTQ+ activists, queer institutions, and fellow artists, it wouldn’t be possible to do it without collaboration.
We want to highlight Rute Bianca and Jó Bernardo, two Portuguese trans activists who were incredibly kind and generous in sharing their experiences and their relationship with Gisberta.
This project is dedicated:
– To Gisberta
– To all the people who were victims of transphobia and now only live on in our memory.
– To those who were never identified.
– To the trans community that fights every day for their existence.
Project description
Gisberta Salce, also known as Gis, was a Trans Woman who immigrated to Portugal in search of a place where she could express her true identity without fear. This powerful documentary reenacts her remarkable journey, tragically culminating in one of the most publicized Transphobic attacks in Portuguese history.
Crafted with the intention of shedding light on the dangers of Transphobia, this project employs techniques from social psychology, such as Virtual Reality Perspective Taking-Tasks (Van Loon et al., 2018) and Empathy studies.
By harnessing the potential of VR for social education and intervention against Transphobia, it serves as a poignant reminder of the urgent need to combat prejudice.
Focused on the Brazilian society, which shares Gisberta’s nationality and stands as the unfortunate epicenter of Trans assassinations globally for the 16th year running (ANTRA, 2025), this art activism initiative seeks to unveil Gisberta’s untold story and raise awareness about the imperative to protect Trans individuals worldwide.
“A story without a middle”
This documentary challenges the narrative propagated by Portuguese media. Drawing from meticulous research encompassing 68 news articles, it weaves Gisberta’s life story that was largely omitted from mainstream discourse. The narrative is curated from interviews with close friends, LGBTQ+ activists, queer institutions, and fellow artists.
Presented in five acts, viewers embark on an immersive journey through Gisberta’s 45-year life. The experience is enriched by a symbolic narration by Trans Brazilian Woman, Alexia Vitória. Her voice guides viewers not to emulate Gisberta’s voice but to amplify the collective voice of Transphobia’s victims.
Created by a dedicated trio of queer artists – Sérgio Galvão Roxo (Director, Writer, Animator, Editor), Pedro Velho (Illustrator, Writer, Director Assistant), and Alexia Vitória (Narrator) – this project stands as a grassroots endeavor without external funding.
Our aim is to foster education and consciousness, illuminating not only the life tragically lost to Transphobia but also the imperative to safeguard Trans lives across the globe.
Awards
Winner – National Grand Prix Competition
FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival, Espinho, Portugal, 2024
MIX.XR Award – Special Mention
Festival MixBrasil, São Paulo, Brazil, 2024
Screenings
VR
10-15 October 2023 — DOK Leipzig – DOK Neuland, Leipzig, Germany — festival link ↗
24-29 October 2023 — 27th Ji.hlava IDFF, Jihlava, Czech Republic — festival link ↗
9-12 March 2024 — SXSW 2024, XR Experience Spotlight, Austin, USA — festival link ↗
5-14 April 2024 — Kaboom Animation Festival, VR Projects, Utrecht & Amsterdam, Netherlands
4-6 June 2024 — RIO2C – Rio Creative Conference, XR Experiences, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
24-17 June 2024 — Sunny Side of the Doc, Studio Oficial Selection, La Rochelle, France
15-21 July 2024 — Anibar International Animation Festival, VR Program, Peja, Kosovo
6-10 November 2024 — 24FRAME Future Film Fest, New Frontiers Competition, Bologna & Modena, Italy
19-24 November 2024 — Festival MixBrasil, MIX.XR, MIX.XR Award – Special Mention, São Paulo, Brazil
23 November 2024 — DescubreXR, Creatividad Expandida, Madrid, Spain
19-30 March 2025 — Roze Filmdagen, Immersive, Amsterdam, Netherlands
6 June 2025 — Queer Visions – VR Film Screening, BOZAR – Center for Fine Arts, Brussels, Belgium
15-16 June 2026 — “After Virtual Reality” Exhibition, CDN, USF and Bergen Film Festival (BIFF), Bergen, Norway
2D
24 June – 1 July 2024 — FEST – New Directors | New Films Festival, Winner – National Grand Prix Competition, Espinho, Portugal
6-8 September 2024 — Prishtina Queer Festival, Prishtina, Kosovo
20-28 September 2024 — Queer Lisboa, QL Short Film Competion, Lisboa, Portugal
4-6 October 2024 — Fértil, Olhão, Portugal
7-19 December 2024 — 40th LGBT Film Festival Ljubljana, Short Film Series, Ljubljana, Slovenia
14 -22 February 2025 — AMPLA, 4th Showcase of Award-Winning Films, Lisboa, Portugal
30 May – 15 June 2025 — Queer Terceira, Angra of Heroismo, Portugal
24 June 2025 — Shortcutz Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal
Press
Voices of VR ↗ — podcast
Docubase ↗ — MIT Open Documentary Lab
Zenit ↗ — podcast
Público ↗ — P3, January 2024
DN ↗ — Diário de Notícias
Credits
Director — Sérgio Galvão Roxo
Assistant Director — Pedro Velho
Screenplay — Pedro Velho & Sérgio Galvão Roxo
Narrator/Voice — Alexia Vitória
Illustrator — Pedro Velho
Animator — Sérgio Galvão Roxo
Editor — Sérgio Galvão Roxo
Sound — Pedro Velho & Sérgio Galvão Roxo
Special Thanks
Jó Bernardo, Rute Bianca, Sérgio Vitorino, João Paulo, Jo Schedlbauer, Thiago Carvalhaes, Paulo Patricio, Centro de Documentação Gonçalo Diniz (ILGA Portugal), Grupo de Reflexão e Intervenção Trans (GRIT), TransUnifesp and Polytechnic University of Leiria.