In Football We Trust

Streaming video - 2015

An insightful and moving documentary feature film exploring in rich detail the remarkable story behind the Polynesian Pipeline to the NFL.A contemporary American story, the film transports viewers deep inside the tightly-knit and complex Polynesian community in Salt Lake City, Utah, one of the chief sources for the modern influx of Pacific Islander NFLers. With unprecedented access and shot over a fouryear time period, the film intimately portrays four young Polynesian men striving to overcome gang violence and near poverty through the promise of American football.Directed by first time feature filmmakers Tony Vainuku and Erika Cohn, IN FOOTBALL WE TRUST takes us into the lives of these high school athletes and their families:Harvey Langi �...�� The second eldest of nine children and starting running back for Utah’s best high school team. He has scholarship offers to play football in nearly every top Division I school in the nation, but family expectations combined with early media attention ultimately lead to a crossroads.Leva and Vita Bloomfield – These two brothers are struggling to live up to their father’s legacy, a former Brigham Young University running back who also founded the first Polynesian gang in Utah. Despite efforts to disaffiliate, the original family ties make it nearly impossible for the brothers to stay away from gang life.Fihi Kaufusi – A two-way lineman who lives in his ultra-religious aunt’s crowded twobedroom apartment with eight other children. Despite Fihi’s apparent talent, a terrible knee injury makes it difficult for Division I coaches to seriously consider his potential. As a result, he is faced with the decision of whether to give up the sport he loves in order to serve a religious mission.Viewed as the “salvation” for their families, these young players reveal the culture clash they experience as they transform out of their adolescence and into the high stakes world of collegiate recruiting and the dream of continuing their community’s legacy of producing NFL stars. more