In Football We Trust

Feb 01

(Tony Vainuku & Erika Cohn, US/American Samoa, 2015, 82 min, in English)

Presented with Longhouse Media as part of Indigenous Showcase.

In Football We Trust captures a snapshot in time amid the rise of the Pacific Islander presence in the NFL. Presenting a new take on the American immigrant story, this documentary transports viewers deep inside the tightly-knit Polynesian community in Salt Lake City, Utah. With unprecedented access and shot over a four-year time period, the film intimately portrays four young Polynesian men striving to overcome gang violence and near poverty through American high school football. 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 rigors of societal expectations.
 
Notes to parents: This version of the film is a “clean version,” completely suitable for mature middle school and high school youth. But there are still a few instances of strong profanity in the locker room, and storylines involving gang violence.
 

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