By Cary Shuman
In one of the most anticipated off-field events in Revere High School football history, former standout and current assistant football coach Brandon Brito will hold a private screening for his documentary Saturday at the Rumney Marsh Academy.
A 2020 Boston College graduate who earned his degree in Film Studies, Brito will showcase his historical sports documentary, “Unbeaten: The Beach City Boys of 1964” before an audience of members of the 1964 RHS team and their families, city officials, supporters, and current RHS football players.
Brito, who is a teacher at the Garfield School and pursuing his master’s degree in Secondary Education at BC, developed his idea for the documentary in 2020 and began pre-production in 2022.
“I was reading an article about the golden age of Revere sports and there was a comment that mentioned the 1964 team,” recalled Brito. “I was inspired by the story of that team, and I felt that it would be something uplifting for the city, the students in the Revere schools, and the players that were involved with that team.”
The Revere players and the sports communities immediately enveloped Brito’s thoughtfulness and his creative energies.
Revere historian Bob Upton was one of the first residents that Brito contacted in his research for the documentary. Brito visited the Revere History Museum on Beach Street to view RHS sports stories and memorabilia.
Award-winning professional photographer Bob Marra has been a dedicated supporter of the project.
“Bob Marra has helped me out tremendously for two years gathering information and photos and setting up interviews,” lauded Brito. “A lot of this wouldn’t have been possible without him.”
Current RHS senior and track star Youness Chahid has also assisted in the endeavor.
A memorable
season that included controversy The 1964 Revere High football team finished with a 7-0-1 record that included a memorable, last-minute 8-0 win over Winthrop in the Thanksgiving game before a packed house of 10,000 fans at then-Paul Revere Stadium. “But they had to forfeit all of their games due to a controversial eligibility ruling,” noted Brito, who covers that aspect of the season in his film. Among the interviews conducted by Brito in the documentary include conversations with future NFL quarterback Jim Del Gaizo and his twin brother, John Del Gaizo, along with Mike Cella and Gina Cella, children of legendary head football coach Silvio Cella. Also appearing in interviews are alumni players Paul Newell, Victor Mancini, Steven Merullo, and Bill Cintolo, who scored the winning touchdown in the 1964 Winthrop-Revere Thanksgiving game. Brito said he is “excited” about the premiere of his documentary after hundreds of hours of production work. “I’m very excited about the screening. There are some butterflies, but that’s normal,” said Brito. “We’re going to watch the film together [Saturday], and I’m going to take the feedback from the players and be open to suggestions. If needed, I will make adjustments to the film before it is released publicly in December.” Brito, who produced an earlier documentary, “Kicking On Rocks” about soccer in his father’s native country, Cape Verde, hopes to submit “Unbeaten” for screenings at film festivals in 2025
