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SALT LAKE CITY — The full-length documentary "In Football We Trust" explores the role football plays within the Polynesian community.
The two Utah filmmakers kept the story right here in our state and followed four boys through their journey on and off the field.
From his Salt Lake City home, first-time director Tony Vainuku reflects on the past five years of his life.
“I was inspired and wanted to tell a story that could inspire the youth, that could inspire parents,” Vainuku said.
Although Polynesians' roots are in rugby, football is quickly becoming a sport of opportunity for these young boys.
"Utah is a Polynesian pipeline for football,” he added.
The film follows four local high school football players, all NFL hopefuls with the dream of using football as a way to better their lives and the lives of their families.
“It is a lot of pressure in different ways for families within our culture,” Vainuku said.
The expectations to succeed are crushing. To capture this, Vainuku and co-director Erika Cohn embedded with the families for four years. At times, they drained their own bank accounts to get the project finished.
“We had our first wake-up call after one of our first fundraisers and realized it's a long road to make an independent film,” Cohn said.
We had our first wake-up call (about all the money needed) after one of our first fundraisers and realized it's a long road to make an independent film.
–Co-director Erika Cohn
But at the end of that long road they had a film that captured the dizzying highs and disappointing lows of reality.
For Vainuku, this journey was personal. Growing up in Salt Lake with little money, his Tongan family looked to his younger uncle.
“He really inspired that film because he did have that talent that could go all the way to the NFL,” he said.
But instead of the NFL, his uncle landed in prison, and with it, benched his family’s hopes for the future.
“I don’t think we should put all our eggs in that basket and it shouldn’t be the end-all be-all,” Vainuku said.
He chose a different route — directing.
The two directors are still in disbelief they got the call their film was selected to premiere at one of the world's biggest film festivals.
“I was like, ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you.’ And then I said, ‘I'm going to let you go, I know you're busy," Vainuku said while laughing, “Because I didn't know what to say.”
“(Vainuku) said, ‘Please jump on Skype, please jump on Skype,’ ” Cohn said. “And so I jumped on Skype and it was all very surreal.” They both hope their film resonates with a larger audience and scores a touchdown with buyers at the festival.
“We're just fortunate for our film to be played for a Sundance audience,” he said.
“In Football We Trust” premieres on Friday, Jan. 23, at the Grand Theater, just blocks away from the home Vainuku grew up in.
