Prime Video and RTP Acquire True-Crime Docuseries Gisberta
Leonel Vieira’s four-part docuseries explores the 2006 murder of a Brazilian transgender woman.
1Broadcasting Rights Secured
Prime Video and the Portuguese public broadcaster RTP have officially acquired the rights to the four-part true-crime docuseries titled Gisberta. Prime Video holds the SVOD rights specifically for Portugal, while RTP retains the free-to-air and AVOD rights. This collaboration marks a significant distribution milestone for the Lisbon-based production company Volf Entertainment.
2Production and Creative Team
The series is a co-production between Portugal’s Volf Entertainment and Brazil’s Ultravioleta. It is directed by Leonel Vieira and Rodrigo Rebouças, with Vieira also serving as the showrunner. Currently in post-production, the project consists of four 45-minute episodes that utilize archive footage, court records, personal letters, and dramatized reconstructions to tell the story.
3The Gisberta Salce Case
The series revisits the 2006 murder of Gisberta Salce Júnior, a Brazilian transgender woman killed in Porto. She was tortured by 14 minors from the Catholic-run Oficina de São José. Although the teenagers were acquitted of homicide, the case sparked widespread outrage across both Portugal and Brazil due to the judicial outcome.
4Institutional Abuse Allegations
Beyond the murder, the docuseries examines serious allegations of sexual abuse and mistreatment of children at the Oficina de São José institution. The facility, which was operated by the Catholic Church, officially closed its doors in 2010. The production features interviews with relatives, friends, lawyers, and journalists connected to the case.
5Industry Recognition and Funding
The project gained momentum after being presented at Conecta Fiction Entertainment in Toledo in 2024. It won two awards, including music-licensing support and an invitation to Chile’s Sanfic Industria Series Lab. These accolades acted as a springboard for securing financing from Amazon Prime and utilizing the Portuguese cash rebate system for production.
6International Distribution Strategy
Leonel Vieira is working with the French distributor About Premium Content, which was involved in the project during its development phase. The team is confident that the distributor will effectively manage international sales for the series. This partnership is intended to bring the Portuguese-Brazilian co-production to a wider global audience beyond local markets.
7Volf Entertainment’s Strategic Shift
Founded in 2022 and backed by an investment fund managed by Quadrantis Capital, Volf Entertainment is expanding its portfolio. Gisberta represents the company’s first foray into the true-crime genre. Vieira believes this is the first true-crime series produced specifically for a streaming platform in Portugal, signaling a potential shift in local content.
8Future Content Pipeline
Volf Entertainment continues to build its slate around Vieira’s extensive career. The company previously released the thriller Favàritx on Max and RTP. Currently, Vieira is in post-production on A Noite, an adaptation of a José Saramago work. The success of Gisberta could pave the way for more powerful, investigative stories from the studio.
Original article: Variety — Prime Video and RTP Acquire True-Crime Docuseries Gisberta