'Love, Lights, Hanukkah!': Meet Mia Kirshner, Brandi Alexander and rest of the cast of Hallmark's holiday film
The celebratory spirit of Christmas is rooted in carols, stories and traditions. Reigniting that festive spirit, Hallmark Channel has launched its ‘Countdown to Christmas’ event with the premiere of an impressive movie lineup that will explore evocative themes such as faith. The lineup has ‘Love, Lights, Hanukkah!’, a movie that revolves around the Jewish festival Hanukkah. This hints that the movie might explore a faith-based narrative. Before we head to watch the film, here's the cast that in reality hails from a Jewish background.
Cast
Mia Kirshner
Born in Toronto, Canada, Mia Kirshner comes from a family of Holocaust survivors. Her journalist father was born in a displaced camp in Germany and her mother was a Bulgarian-Jewish refugee, as reported by Hallmark. Mia embarked on an acting career in the early 1990s. She is best remembered for roles in ‘Love and Human Remains’, ‘Exotica’ and ‘The Grass Harp’.
She has also essayed the lead role opposite Vincent Perez in ‘The Crow: City of Angels’ in 1996 and featured in spoof comedy ‘Not Another Teen Movie’, action-filled drama ‘24’ and the acclaimed series ‘The L Word’. Besides acting, Mia has also co-written a book, ‘I Live Here’, which is a four-volume anthology shedding light on the lives of refugees and displaced people and emphasizing hidden stories. For the book, Mia traveled and scouted stories from Ingushetia (on the border of Chechnya), Burma, Juarez, Mexico and Malawi.
Ben Savage
Ben Savage kickstarted his career in the field of entertainment at the tender age of five. The actor grabbed his first breakout role with NBC television series ‘Dear John’ in 1988, followed by his film debut in ‘Little Monsters’. He featured in many television movies and miniseries and in 1993, he started essaying the lead character of Cory Matthews in the popular ABC series ‘Boy Meets World’. After the show was done, Ben enrolled in and graduated with honors from Stanford University. His guest television series credits include ‘Chuck’, ‘Homeland’, ‘Without a Trace’ and ‘Bones’. More recently in 2014, the star reprised his role as Cory Matthews on Disney’s show ‘Girl Meets World’.
Brandi Alexander
Born and raised in Vancouver BC to a Filipino mother and a father of African/Aboriginal and European descent, Brandi Alexander was always interested in expressing herself through creative mediums. Be it drawing, painting or her passion for performing arts, the actress had taken part in many creative endeavors right from her school days. She was approached by a modeling agency at the age of 13 where she worked as a fashion model in print, commercials and runway. She was chosen as a contestant in Canada’s 'Next Top Model' and also worked on 'Deal or No Deal Canada'. Her television credits include ‘iZombie’, ‘Phantom’, ‘Blackburn’, ‘Psych’, ‘Motive’, ‘Girlfriends Guide to Divorce and Supernatural’.
Brandi’s supporting roles include starring in ‘A Timeless Christmas’, ‘Wedding Every Weekend’, ‘The Last Bridesmaid’, ‘Memories of Christmas’, ‘Baking for Keeps’ and ‘Gift to Remember’.
The movie premieres on Saturday, December 12, at 8 pm ET/PT on Hallmark Channel.