Crown Media Eight Gifts of Hanukkah
The Hallmark Channel’s “Eight Gifts of Hanukkah” premieres on Friday, December 3 at 8 p.m. Eastern, with encores airing later throughout the season. The movie stars Inbar Lavi and Jake Epstein. Read on to learn all about where the movie was filmed and the cast.
If you miss the premiere, you can catch it again on December 4 at 10:01 p.m. Eastern, December 6 at 6 p.m., December 12 at 2 p.m., December 25 at 10 p.m., and December 31 at 12 p.m. Eastern.
‘Eight Gifts of Hanukkah’ Was Filmed in Canada
“Eight Gifts of Hanukkah” was filmed in Canada, according to IMDb. Lavi tagged one of her photos as being taken in Langley, British Columbia, in mid-October. She revealed that she was filming her new movie instead of honeymooning.
Yahoo! News reported that this is Hallmark’s first Hanukkah movie that focused entirely on the holiday. Hallmark has aired other Hanukkah-themed movies before. In 2020, Hallmark premiered “Love, Lights, Hanukkah!”, a movie about a woman who learned from a DNA test that she was Jewish. (And yes, “My Christmas Family Tree” was also about a woman who learned she had an unexpected family lineage from a DNA test.) In 2019, Hallmark premiered “Double Holiday,” which also had a Jewish theme for part of the movie.
The cast had a lot of fun filming the new movie.
Alice Rose shared this photo from the set, which was tagged in Langley, British Columbia.
She said Kaye was the best TV dad ever.
Meet the Cast
Crown MediaEight Gifts of Hanukkah
The synopsis reads: “An anonymous suitor sends optometrist Sara a gift for each night of Hanukkah. On her journey to find her secret admirer, she learns her one true love might be someone she never expected.”
Crown MediaEight Gifts of Hanukkah
Inbar Lavi is Sara. Her credits include “Lucifer” (Eve), “Stumptown” (Max), “Sorry for Your Loss,” “Imposters” (Maddie), “Prison Break” (Sheba), “The Last Ship” (Lt. Ravit Bivas,) “Castle,” “Sons of Anarchy” (Winsome), “Gang Related” (Veronica), “Underemployed” (Raviva,) and more.
When the pandemic hit, Lavi created her own fashion brand with proceeds going to female-owned businesses. IMDb quotes her as saying: “I take great pride in portraying a strong female character who is independent and can take care of herself. I don’t think we get to see that enough in television.”
Crown MediaEight Gifts of Hanukkah
Jake Epstein is Daniel. His credits include “Star Trek: Discover,” “Frankie Drake Mysteries,” “Holly Hobbie” (Jason Reeves), “A Storybook Christmas,” “Designated Survivor” (Chuck Russink), “Murdoch Mysteries,” “Degrassi: Next Class,” “Good Witch,” “Charming Christmas,” “Degrassi: The Next Generation” (Craig Manning), “Paradise Falls,” “The Zack Files” (Cam), and more.
Epstein earned a Gemini Award for his role as Craig Manning on “Degrassi.” He’s also going to have a recurring role on the next season of “The Umbrella Academy” along with “The Hardy Boys.”
Crown MediaEight Gifts of Hanukkah
Barry Levy is Stuart. His credits include “LA Macabre” (Det. Allen), “Love Under the Olive Tree,” “Martha’s Vineyard Mysteries,” “Arrow,” “Morning Show Mysteries,” “Harvest Love,” “Doomsday,” “Scandal” (Secret Service agent), “Matador,” “The Cape,” “Ex-Convict’s Guide” (Robin Sutherland), “Out of Order” (Agent Brian), “Very Cool Christmas,” “Millennium,” “The Outer Limits,” “Silent Mobius,” “The X-Files,” “Madison,” and more.
Sheila Tyson is Esther. Her credits include “Christmas Sail,” “Riverdale” (Delores), “Hint of Love,” “Cherished Memories: A Gift to Remember 2,” “My Wife’s Secret Life,” “Picture Perfect Mysteries,” “Altered Carbon,” “Almost Human,” and more.
Natalie Malaika is Keisha. Her credits include “Day of the Dead” (Lauren), “Cranberry Christmas,” “The Sinners,” “Charmed,” “Good Witch,” and more.
Also starring are:
- David Kaye (Jacob)
- Alice Rose (Zoey)
- Amitai Marmorstein (Tom)
- Michael Patrick Denis (Paul)
- Oliver Rice (Nigel)
- Doron Bell (Jimmy)
- Andrew Zachar (Adam)
- Samantha Ferris (Myra)
- Joshua Harding (Jay)
- Logan Tarasoff (Josh)
- James Paladino (Santa)
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