Hope, happiness prevail in big-screen retelling of West Haven girl's life

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CENTERVILLE — Three years after a terminal illness took the life of a West Haven teenager, friends and teammates gathered to remember her life.

Dressed for a special occasion, they came ready with popcorn and tissues Tuesday to watch as Kennedy Hansen's story was told on the big screen, the latest project by Utah filmmaker T.C. Christensen.

Among them was Alexus Velasquez, whose experiences are chronicled in the film. Velasquez's time cheerleading with Kennedy brought comfort and spiritual strength to her own family when her father found himself facing his own terminal illness.

"It was hard reliving it, but I think that the message that was shown and the spirit in the room was unreal," Velasquez said. "I hope that her story and my family's story gets people curious enough maybe to go to church, maybe to read a scripture, or ask questions."

Velasquez and others on the cheerleading squad fulfilled one of Kennedy's childhood wishes by bringing her onto their team. What was initially intended to be a single night of cheering with the team quickly became a close connection that endured through the last year of Kennedy's life and remains with her family today.

But despite its emotional ending, Christensen, known for his faith-based films "17 Miracles" and "The Cokeville Miracle," emphasized that the story is not a tragedy, but a message of hope and happiness.

"If this was just a story about a girl who dies, I wouldn't have made the film," Christensen said. "It's all of the redemption and the conversion story and missionary work and all of these great things, the effect on the community, that's what attracted me to the story."

The film — titled "Love, Kennedy" — includes much of the family's faith in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It opens Friday in select theaters.

True to the teenager's life, the Megaplex theater in Centerville was full of laughter, selfies and hugs as many of the former cheerleaders who adopted Kennedy onto their team came with their families for a special screening of the film.

Much of the movie is filmed in the Hansen's West Haven home, with members of the original cheerleading squad appearing on screen alongside actresses cast for the production, a decision that Christensen believes brought deep reality and emotion to the storytelling.

"I think there is an authenticity that comes from a true story," Christensen said. "I want to support that by filming it in their home and using real cheerleaders who were around her and loved her and had this experience. And even though they're not actors … they were there, and all I have to do is roll it."

For Velasquez, one scene filmed in Kennedy's bedroom especially struck her, as 19-year-old Tatum Chiniquy, who played Kennedy, is seen sharing her dolls with another terminally ill girl visiting her.

"We would go over every week and play dolls with her," Velasquez recalled, describing the cheerleaders' frequent visits to the Hansen home. "If I could go back to any moment, it would be that one."

"If this was just a story about a girl who dies, I wouldn't have made the film." T.C. Christensen, filmmaker

"Love, Kennedy" is a retelling of the Hansen family's experiences as Kennedy battled what they would later learn was juvenile Batten disease, a rare neurological condition that slowly robbed the bright, active girl of her vision, motor skills, speech, mobility and cognitive abilities.

Ultimately, Kennedy was left blind and unable to speak, with her mind like that of a child.

Only 2 to 4 children out of every 100,000 are born with Batten's disease in the United States, according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and those with the aggressive condition don't generally survive into their 20s.

Kennedy died at age 16 of the disorder on May 30, 2014, a date which her father, Jason Hansen, told the audience made the screening especially meaningful.

"The movie speaks for itself, but Heather and I can honestly say that T.C. told it right," Hansen said as he and his wife shared their appreciation for those in the audience, receiving a standing ovation in return.

The couple also thanked the film's actors — including Chiniquy and her on-screen parents, Jasen Wade and Heather Beers — who they say will share their daughter's story worldwide. The actors and others who appeared in the film were on hand for photos and autographs after the screening, while a display of Kennedy's cheerleading jacket and pompoms were displayed alongside a guest book for the audience to sign.

The story for "Love, Kennedy" is taken from the many detailed journal entries and Facebook posts from Kennedy's parents, which have also been condensed into a book, "Kennedy's Hugs."

As the film opens to the public, Velasquez said she hopes those who see it will do so with their own struggles and questions in mind so that they, too, can learn from Kennedy's example.

"Before Kennedy, I never asked those questions," Velasquez said. "So for them seeing it first-hand, as I saw it and as my teammates saw it, ask questions. If you have a feeling, then go with it, because it's an undeniable feeling. Be conscious about how it makes you feel."