Many of us are familiar with Mia Kirshner from her roles in films such as Exotica, Not Another Teen Movie, and Black Dahlia, and TV series such as The L Word and Vampire Diaries.

But let’s take a second look at this actress and give her the praise she deserves as an activist and a writer. Kirshner recently completed a book called Intimacy. Each page is handmade and crafted, using photographs taken by the actress at an L Word Convention in Liverpool. A love story between two women, the limited edition book sold out surprisingly quickly.

Kirshner’s first book I Live Here (2008) left many enthralled by her artistically creative documentation of raw, unheard stories from around the world. By capturing these emotions with journal entries, comic strips, and drawings, Kirshner evoked a strong intimate connection between these women and children, and her readers. And this is not the end; I Live Here has become more than just a book, but an organization with plans to further extend and grow. For more information on this organization and how you can help, please check out the website.
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I had the pleasure of meeting Mia Kirshner on Saturday, Aug 22. She was hosting a fundraiser for her charity, I-live-here.

It was a wonderful event for a great cause.

Mia Kirshner is an actress who starred in Showtime’s, “The L Word” for six years. She has been in numerous films and TV movies. Not only is she a brilliant actress, but a devoted humanitarian as well. She is very passionate about the work she is doing, which I find very admirable.

I-live-here is a book that she started about eight years ago. It’s a paper documentary about heart wrenching stories from four areas in the world that are having big problems. Chechnya, (is in midst of a war) Burma (ethnic cleansing), Mexico (globalization) and Malawi (AIDS). The book (which is four books inside a hard cover book that folds up) is told from the people in these countries. It’s their stories, and Mia and her team are bringing this to our attention. The things that are going on over there, shouldn’t be.

Right now there is a Humanitarian Emergency situation in Malawi. Conditions have worsened since Mia was last there a few years ago. Most people probably don’t even know this is going on…..
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Who killed Jenny Schecter? A mere five months ago, that was the burning question on lesbian lips in living rooms and local bars from Los Angeles to Little Falls, New Jersey.

Mia Kirshner (Miss Conception, The Black Dahlia, 24) — the astonishing actor who played Jenny, and managed to find the humanity in a character known for uttering, “Adele, the appliqué on the back of your jeans was declared an abomination by the Geneva Convention,” and other psychotic bon mots — is in fact a thoughtful woman who’d rather spend time with her friends than bask in the spotlight of Hollywood.

After a record six years as Showtime’s longest running original series, The L Word finally ended in March, putting our love-to-hate relationship with Jenny Schecter to rest, not to mention relieving us of those annoying alliterations.

What many people don’t know is, all that time, Mia was also focused on humanitarian issues, and in October, 2008, she published her first book, I Live Here, a collection of “visually stunning” narratives told through journals, stories and images, by refugees and displaced people from around the world.
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Visit causecast.org for more information.

Thanks to Holly for the link.

The Jewish people have a long history of persecution and victimization. Our sufferings as a people have undeniably shaped who we are as individuals and as a people today. Throughout the world, people are still being silenced and exterminated, just as millions of us were in Europe 65 years ago. Just as we begged the world to help, so are our brethren the world over. There is no better time to fulfill our promise of “never again” and our biblical duties as God’s caretakers of the world. Although there were those who came to our aid, it is acknowledged that not enough was done to save the 6 million Jews that perished in the Holocaust, just as we did not do enough in Rwanda when that genocide erupted.

Everyone now knows about the atrocities committed in the Holocaust, because Jews have dedicated themselves to educating others about the horrors of the concentration camps and sharing stories of our suffering. Other stories of atrocities and disasters affecting millions of impoverished people the world over are less frequently told, but those individuals are no less deserving of justice.
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This event was originally scheduled for tomorrow (April 22), but it’s been postponed until June 11, so now there’s time for you guys to make some plans if you’d like to attend. Thanks to Susan for the info.

Press Release from opusa.org:

Actress/author Mia Kirshner (THE L WORD, THE BLACK DAHLIA) and author James MacKinnon have joined forces with international relief agency Operation USA to bring creative writing field projects inspired by their acclaimed book, I Live Here to communities in need around the world. The program will launch in Malawi, Africa, with Kirshner and MacKinnon returning to work in the Kachere Juvenile Centre in Lilongwe, the boys prison documented in the 2008 book.

Malawi is one of the world’s poorest countries, with an HIV/AIDS rate of nearly twenty percent. I LIVE HERE is a creative writing, literacy and livelihood program that will work inside the Kachere Juvenile Centre – working to bring hope to children that have little reason to think their lives can improve.

“When visiting the youth prison in Lilongwe, I saw the extreme conditions that these kids live in. I saw that they are rapidly slipping through the cracks. What I saw is a cruel reality and gruesome future. One inmate wrote, “My goodness is my wisdom, is my strength is my future.” The impact of this leaves me no option but to do everything I can to help change the extremities that these children live under,” said Mia Kirshner.
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The following new magazine scans have been added to the gallery. Happy reading!

Flare – April 2001
Curve – January/February 2009 (TLW related)
Heeb – Winter 2008/2009
TLW Season 6 ad

At a Los Feliz café, Mia Kirshner seems nothing like Jenny Schecter, the narcissistic diva she portrays on the Showtime lipstick lesbian drama, “The L Word.” (more…)

Actress puts MIT class behind the camera

Nishima Chudasama held open the shop door for the man with the haunted eyes and bird’s nest beard and wondered about his life. Then she stopped wondering and started finding out.

Chudasama, a resource analyst in the Industrial Liaison Program, approached the man near the T station in Central Square and asked permission to interview him on camera for a short film project. He agreed.

Chudasama’s initiative was the result of the IAP class, “I Live Here (A Human Rights Multimedia Project),” led by actress and author Mia Kirshner. The class encouraged participants to seek out untold stories in the Boston area and turn them into two-minute films.
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I’m a few days late in posting this, but Mia is teaching at 2 week IAP course at MIT on the following dates: January 20, 22, 27 and 29. How exciting! Unfortunately I live no where near MIT so I won’t be able to attend, but I hope some of you will be able to make it. Click here for full details, directions and more. Thanks goes out to Larissa for contacting me about this.

Mirroring the multimedia approach of the book, this two-week course will ask you to create your own short video based on hidden stories that need to be heard within your own greater Boston community. The results will be featured on the I Live Here website, which links to Amnesty International’s homepage and the MIT Center for International Studies website. They will also be shown at a MIT public event with Mia Kirshner at the end of January.