For Chris Hanna, the Dallas Cowboys' quarterback will always be Tony Romo.
It's easy to understand why. The El Paso film director, who turned 27 last week, grew up with Romo leading the Cowboys.
So when Romo's career was over in 2017, Hanna lamented with a friend about how his football hero never got an appropriate goodbye.
Hanna, who was finishing up his film degree at Santa Fe (New Mexico) University at the time, decided to make a short film showing Romo's origin story growing up Burlington, Wisc., in a Mexican-American family.
"Now Or Never: A Tony Romo Story," which is still looking for a distributor, is showing at the Dallas Video Festival at the Angelika Film Center in Dallas Thursday through Sunday. It will show at the Lone Star Film Festival at the AMC Palace Theater in Fort Worth on November 13.
Hanna's idea got a boost when Romo and his family liked his idea. The short film turned into an hour, 35 minute documentary.
"I wanted to breakdown his heritage and really tell people this is what makes a person, this is his community, this is his family," Hanna said. "They loved it and loved that it it was more than just focusing on his career with the Cowboys but more about the person, and how he became No. 9 with the Cowboys."
The film studies Romo's early life growing up in Wisconsin and includes interviews with his father, grandparents, former coaches and childhood friends. Oh, and Romo, too. He was interviewed three different times for the film, Hanna said.
"He was my personal idol and hero," Hanna said. "Tony Romo was always my quarterback and the reason I became even more of a Cowboys fan because of his charisma."
Hanna said once his idea for the film was understood by the Romo family, doors started opening, especially in Burlington, Wisc.
"I'm extremely grateful to the Romo family and to the Burlington community for letting a kid from El Paso tell such a powerful story and tell his hero's journey," he said. "The film captures who they are as a community and a family.
One of the most special aspects of the film for Hanna is the inclusion of Romo's Mexican grandparents. "It shows their background and the sacrifices they had to make to come to this country. It shows who he was before Tony even became Tony."
