The Rise of Guelfi is a documentary series following Silas Nacita, formerly of the Marburg Mercenaries and Frankfurt Universe in the German Football League, as he embarks on a new football journey in Italy, with the Firenze Guelfi, located in Florence, Italy.
Reunited with his coach from Baylor University and former teammate Lynx Hawthorne, Nacita, who has been vlogging since arriving in Europe three years ago, will document the team as they attempt to win the 2019 Italian championship.
AFI: You have been doing your own vlog since you arrived in Europe but this is a departure. What was the reasoning behind it?
Nacita: I enjoy creating films. I’ll still be doing Vlogs, but the documentary series will be a change of pace and a chance for me to be a more creative than my typical vlogs. Secondly, there’s also a lot of people back in the states who are very interested to follow our team because they love Coach Briles. I want to give them an opportunity to see and support him from afar.
AFI: How many episodes do you have planned?
Nacita: I’m not sure how many episodes I’ll make. My original thought is 6-8, but we will see. I still have to focus on actually scoring touchdowns. Haha.
AFI: Have you had any formal training in camerawork or videography?
Nacita: My brother has a video production company in North Carolina, which I’ve worked for in the past and he’s taught me most of what I know.
AFI: Explain how important it is being reunited with Coach Briles and Lynx Hawthorne.
Nacita: Being reunited with Coach Briles has been incredible. I feel like it’s closing a chapter that was left open in my life. We both are a constant reminder to each other of how blessed we are to be involved in the sport again. Lynx brings even more of that camaraderie together.
AFI: What do you expect from this season?
Nacita: Expectations. It’s going to be a really fun season. We got stuff planned on offense that “the world has never seen.” (Coach Briles words)