Transcript: Bags 2 Riches – Isabel Kanaan | Simplii

[Dramatic music]

[B2R with Simplii Financial]

[Toronto, Ontario]

[Aerial view of downtown Toronto, a collection of high-rise office and residential buildings of all different shapes and sizes. In the back stands the CN Tower with its large round observation deck and antenna rising above the height of the tall buildings.]

[The curved buildings of Toronto City Hall, with several floors of glass facing each other stand tall behind the fountain in Nathan Phillips Square. The fountain is a large, rectangular shape of mostly calm water. In the middle about 20 water jets shoot water straight up into the air. Three well-spaced concrete arches stretch from one side of the fountain to the other. Behind city hall are numerous high-rise residential and office buildings of all shapes, sizes and colours.]

[Isabel Kanaan, Comedian, Actor] 

>> Isabel Kanaan: My story is one of many immigrant stories. We're all different and we all cope through different ways. Mine was through comedy.

[A posterior view of Isabel Kanaan, an early 30s woman with a slight build walking up a concrete stairway with large concrete walls on both sides and emerging to stand looking at the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square.]

[In an interview setting, Isabel Kanaan is seated looking at the camera. This image repeats frequently.]

[Isabel Kanaan, wearing dark oversized, round sunglasses, walks through downtown Toronto. To the left of the screen is Toronto’s Old City Hall, a low-rise brown Romanesque-style building. In the background are a few tall skyscrapers of different materials and sizes.]

[Still photograph of Isabel standing in front of a wood-paneled wall with a black curtain covering an opening to backstage. Isabel is holding a microphone in her right hand while she leans with her left hand resting on a mic stand. Isabel is looking off to her right, smiling.]

[Still image of Isabel acting.]

[Still image of Isabel acting with several other people.]

When I started writing comedy, we learned about the perspective. What is my point of view? And then it clicked of like, wait a minute, it's me. Me, being Filipino. Me being an immigrant. This is my point of view.

[Isabel Kanaan still standing in front of the large high-rise buildings, remains still while the camera pans around her.]

[Isabel is standing in front of a blurred Toronto sign and the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square. Isabel’s sunglasses have been removed and she is smiling at the camera.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Isabel playing a character in ‘Abroad’] Filipina. Immigrant. Amateur food crocheter.

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

I love comedy.

[Isabel as Abroad character] ‘Abroad’ is like an all-inclusive vacation minus the free buffet and epic hangovers.

[Isabel’s character in ‘Abroad’ is now standing in the dressing room, speaking vibrantly to the camera, moving her arms while she speaks.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

Let's do a Filipino immigrant sketch show.

[Video footage of the title sequence of the show ‘Abroad’. First Isabel is standing in a stark white room and lifts a large yellow suitcase covered with different travel stickers. Next, Isabel dressed in a black Western type of jacket with yellow fringe across the shoulders, a black cowboy hat and a thin mustache spins around in front of a close up image of the bright yellow suitcase. The next image shows Isabel dressed in a plaid jacket looking off to the right and turns around, startled, by a large Canadian flag popping up behind her.] 

[Isabel Kanaan standing in front of the large high-rise buildings faces the camera, smiling.]

I'm Isabel Kanaan, and this is my Bags to Riches story.

[A dotted pink line emerges from centre left of the screen leading to the centre, to a black and white image of several old-timey suitcases are shown appearing through a large camera lens.]

[The camera lens with suitcases fades to the background while the dotted pink line continues on and expands as marks on a black and white flight board reading “Airport Departures”. Several flight destinations appear under the headings “Time”, “City”, and “Flight”.]

[The airport departures screen fades while a bright pink circle appears close to the screen, then decreases rapidly in size following the airport departures screen. A close-up view of a black and white map showing Canada, Greenland on the left and parts of Europe on the right, appears. An airplane takes off from an area in France, heading towards Canada, a trail of bright pink dots following the flight path of the airplane.]

[From the centre of the screen a large camera lens now surrounded by a bright pink circle rapidly increases in size, breaking up the solid line to form pink dots around the camera lens. Inside the lens are a number of black and white passport stamps indicating various countries and dates. In the centre “CANADA” clearly stands out in bold lettering.]

[A pink circle emerges from the centre of the screen, starting small and rapidly expanding replacing the images of the passport stamps. The title, “BAGS 2 RICHES” in bright pink lettering appear in the centre of the screen, while the words “Simplii Financial” are shown at the bottom right of the title in white lettering, all against a plain black screen.]

[Bags 2 Riches, Simplii Financial]

[Image of Manila, Philippines]

[Manila, Philippines]

I was born in Manila, Philippines. My mom enrolled me in dance classes, and I got into acting through a Filipino class that wanted me to do a monologue. And I killed it, made people cry, and I caught the bug. [laughs]

[Still images cycle. First a photograph of teenaged Isabel dancing alongside another girl performing the same routine. Next photograph shows Isabel and a male partner behind standing next to another female with a male partner behind. The next image shows Isabel along with several other members of a dance team all posing for a photo. The group are all wearing sheer purple shirts with white camisoles underneath, smiling at the camera.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Photograph of Isabel seated in front of a blue backdrop with scattered scrawled pink stars. Isabel is looking up and right towards the camera and is holding several teenage novels in her hands.]

[Still images cycle. First, a photograph of Isabel’s family seated on the floor in front of a Christmas tree. Next, Isabel and a sibling sit between her parents in front of a backdrop of a large glass paneled wall with lush, dense trees behind. Next, young Isabel and two siblings stand with their arms around each other’s shoulders looking at the camera.]

My parents, Shirley and Alejandro, they wanted to give the best opportunities to their children, us. And so, in August 2008, we moved and we came to Burlington, Ontario, Canada. We spoke English in the Philippines, but not to the extent that we needed to here. So, there were times when I remember I would talk slower.

[A large jumbo jet flies overhead with a blue sky and sun overhead. The camera pans and reveals the airplane flying towards the city of Toronto, with the large, sprawling Toronto skyline in the distance.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Burlington skyline taken towards the land from the water.] 

[Still images of young Isabel cycle. First, a group of 12 young school-aged children, and two older teenage children are seated together on a large yellow couch, posed for a photograph. Next, Isabel and another young girl stand back-to-back looking at the camera, both posing, looking at the camera. Isabel is sticking out her tongue.]

[A close-up of a portrait photograph of a young Isabel is in an oval glass picture frame. The picture frame is on a wooden end table with a table lamp behind the photograph.]

There were things that I would still translate in my head, and sometimes it's also to get rid of the accent because I thought, oh, I'm gonna go to a new country, so I need to talk like them. It wasn't me. But I thought that that's what I needed to do to fit in

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Still images of teenaged Isabel. First Isabel is seated on a black chair in a large white room with black carpeting. Next, Isabel acting wearing a flowy green sheer dress and veil over her head and has on a plastic red clown nose. Next, Isabel and a male actor are standing several feet apart in front of a purple screen. 

[Still images cycle. First, a school-aged Isabel is grouped tightly with three other Filipino children, all looking at the camera. Next, a late-teens Isabel with a hat with the flag of the Philippines and her body draped in a Filipino flag is crouched over in front of a group of five or six people all dressed in Filipino attire. .]

So, blending in for me at the time meant that I had to shy away from my Filipino culture. I would not eat Filipino food. Yep. So, the biggest advice that I could give kids is don't forget, don't forget who you are, ‘cause that will come out later on. And so, embrace that when you do remember.

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Close-up photograph of a late-teens Isabel, dressed smartly, standing in a court room with a large bench just off to her right and a Canadian flag resting on the bench.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Close-up of the repeat image of the group of 14 children on the couch.]

Growing up in the Philippines, my parents taught me to save money. You can use your money on the needs, and your wants, save it.

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Gentle music]

[Photograph of an infant Isabel on a couch with her father seated beside her, arm around her, smiling at the camera.]

[Video footage of a Canadian flag on a flagpole, waving proudly in the wind in front of a backdrop of a large glass high-rise building.

And when I got to Canada, I learned that saving can only do so much, and I learned to invest.

[Close-up of Isabel standing in downtown Toronto wearing the large, round, oversized sunglasses.]

[Close up of the “Toronto” sign at the fountain at Nathan Phillips Square.]

So, all those savings that I did save are now working in my favour. So, I'm glad that my parents instilled the saving. And I'm glad I learned from Canada to invest. Learn investment strategies.

[Isabel, in her oversized sunglasses, sits on a bench looking at a computer. Behind her is a boardwalk. The camera pans around Isabel to show her sitting in front of a lush, heavily treed space with the high rises and CN Tower of downtown Toronto in the far distance. This scene repeats.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Anterior view of Isabel sitting on the bench. On the boardwalk behind, several people walk to and fro.]

Learn that ‘cause if you're an immigrant, I know you've saved. You've saved and you know how to save. So that can only do you good for so long. So, those savings, invest it.

[Close-up of Isabel sitting on the bench.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Sombre music]

One of the reasons why I didn't start acting when I first got here was because I didn't see myself on TV. So, I got into math. [laughs] I loved math in school, don't get me wrong, but you know, eventually I realized, what am I doing here?

[Close-up of a certificate recognizing “Isabel Kanaan on being nominated for a 2018 Premier’s Award for Outstanding Ontario College Graduates.] 

[Still photographs of Isabel with various friends cycle. First, Isabel with three other female friends all standing close together smiling at the camera. Next, a large group of friends huddled together, five standing together in the back with Isabel and another friend crouching down in front, smiling at the camera.]

[Black and white image of Isabel standing on a stage holding a microphone, giving a presentation. Behind Isabel is a large screen with words describing “favourite quote”, “favourite food”, et cetera.]

And so, I'm like, okay, let's move into something that I am comfortable with, showing my performing side.

[Photograph of Isabel and five other actors in outlandish, colourful costumes, all standing together posing for a picture.]

And that's when I really just became me again. So, that led me to join the Second City for comedy. And then, that later on led me to get amazing gigs, like “Air Farce”. After doing “Air Farce” and doing some Canadian shows here and there I just decided to carve my own path.

[Portion of a photograph of Isabel with several other people posing for a picture. Isabel is crouched down in front with her left arm draped over a male with glasses.]

[Black and white photograph of Isabel acting, wearing a short black wig, mouth agape, looking at a character played by Kevin McDonald who appears to be portraying a dentist looking in her mouth.]

[Video clips of Isabel portraying different characters. First, with blonde hair wearing a yellow shirt who quickly turns to look over her left shoulder. Next, Isabel with long, black hair and a red dress with V-neckline. Next, Isabel wearing black rimmed glasses with s short brown bob haircut. Finally, Isabel with a salt and pepper coloured beard wearing a backwards red baseball cap. Finally, Isabel has shoulder length black hair wearing pink polka dot pajamas.]

[Repeat scene of “Abroad” dressing room.]

 [Isabel as “Abroad” Character] Oh, my gosh, you're here! Okay, okay. Welcome to “Abroad”!

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

What I wanted to do with “Abroad” was really showcase the different sides of Filipino immigrants. That immigrant journeys can be funny as well.

[Repeat title sequence scene of “Abroad”.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

Yes, they're tough, but funny as well.

[Byron Abalos, Actor, Writer] 

[Interview of Byron Abalos, a 30-something-ish Filipino-Canadian actor. The interview setting is a blurred background with a large leafy green tree filling half of the backdrop. The words “BYRON ABALOS - ACTOR/WRITER” in white lettering over a black panel rest in the lower left corner. This scene repeats frequently.]

>> Byron Abalos: And then, it is the first ever Filipino-Canadian sketch comedy show to ever be produced.

[Interview setting of Jeca Martinez, a early 30s Filipino-Canadian. The interview is set outdoors in front of a blurred brown house behind. The words “JECA MARTINEZ - SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER, “ABROAD” in white lettering over a black panel rest in the lower left corner. This scene repeats frequently.]

[Jeca Martinez, Social Media Manager, “Abroad”]

>> Jeca Martinez: It’s very niche, but at the same time, it's very universal because especially as immigrants, just the themes of like fitting in, moving to a new place and trying to kind of find our footing again and starting over.

[In an indoor office setting, Isabel dressed in a red suit walks through the doorway to meet with a female. Next, a still of a film set with Isabel dressed in a leopard print fur coat smiling at the camera while a boom microphone is held overhead.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[A replay of editing film footage of Isabel and another actor in different characters in “Abroad” plays back on a large TV hanging on a wall.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: It's really cool that we're finding our voices through comedy.

[Isabel and a production staff member sit at a table watching the filmed footage.]

I like just the middle laughs].

[Outdoor interview setting of Byron.]

>> Byron Abalos: “Abroad” is absolutely special in its ability to capture the Canadian, Filipino-Canadian diaspora and to give it a platform to shine and to show not only the Filipinos that this is who we are and this is our experience, but also to show other people that aren't a part of our community that, hey, this is a community that is with us, that is a part of Canada.

[Isabel continues to sit at the table in the editing room reviewing more film footage of herself acting as a female character in “Abroad”. Also seated at a table is a member of the production crew looking at a large editing computer screen.]

[Outdoor interview setting of Byron.]

[Isabel dressed as a Bruno Mars character for “Abroad” with a short, curly black wig, wearing a pink fedora with a black stripe and a pink dress shirt with a large gold chain around her neck.]

[Footage of Isabel dressed as a male Filipino boxer wearing a red robe and red boxing gloves plays on the editing television.]

[Outdoor interview setting of Byron.]

[Isabel and editing staff continue working in the editing room, Isabel laughing.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: People are relating to it. And I was getting fan mail from Filipinos if different parts of the world telling me, “You're an inspiration.”

>> Byron Abalos: She's opened the door for actors, for writers like myself – for all sorts of people to be involved in a creative way of telling stories that previously they-they didn't have access to.

[Isabel and Byron sit talking and collaborating on a large outdoor bench on a raised veranda in front of four large windows in a brown-brick house.

[Social media closeup of account of “Isabel Kanaan” showing 182.9K followers.]

>>Jeca Martinez: A lot of the sketches have gone really viral online. It makes people feel seen. When you're an immigrant, there's a lot of aspects that feel heavy, but the show makes it lighter for you, and makes it feel like you're not alone in this.

[Social media clips of Isabel in different characters. Laid overtop are the words “The First Reveal”. Isabel first looks off to her right and is pulling glasses down her nose as to get a closer look. The next image is Isabel dressed in a black leather coat, hair pulled back, wearing oversized sunglasses. She raises her head straight up to look forward. Next the title is “The Evil Laugh” and Isabel is seen laughing hysterically then stops suddenly and looks stone faced towards the camera.]

[Isabel and Jeca sitting at a kitchen table in a mostly white kitchen. They are looking at a pink laptop computer and smiling.]

[Outdoor interview setting of Jeca.]

[Isabel and Jeca now sitting side by side at the kitchen table, looking at the camera, laughing.]

[Outdoor interview setting of Byron.]

>> Byron Abalos: And I think that's absolutely inspiring to young people. I think any time one of us in the community rises up, we all rise up. And Izzy is also one of those people.

[On a stage, Isabel is standing at a microphone in front of a large screen. Her elbows are bent, and hands are raised up, and she is laughing.

[Repeat scene of “Abroad” dressing room.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: [“Abroad” character] This show has everything. We even have special guests like Bruno Mars!

[Repeat scene of Isabel as Bruno Mars.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: [portraying Bruno Mars] I'm about to get my Filipino funk on. And to all my fans out there, “Mahal ko kayo.”

[Gentle music]

[Still photograph of a young Isabel and a sibling sitting on their mom and Dad’s laps respectively, in a living room. Behind them is a large bureau on top of which are many figurines.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: I really, really admire my dad and my mom. Coming from the Philippines, into a new world like Canada, it was the right decision to move us here.

[A close-up of a dated photograph of a young Isabel with two siblings and their father is in an heart-shaped glass picture frame. The picture frame is on a wooden end table with a potted plant behind the photograph.]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Photograph of a teenaged Isabel dressed in a long, white, formal dress. Isabel is flanked on her right by her father and on her left by her mother. They are standing in front of a brick wall with a fireplace, smiling at the camera.]

There is just always that thing where they're gonna be like, “Oh, acting.” They would be like, but this, but math or but stability, but all this. And I think the final kicker was why would you move to a country to give me better opportunities if you're not allowing me to pursue these opportunities?

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

[Isabel and her three siblings stand with their mother, all dressed in suits and jackets, in front of a wall of flags representing the provinces of Canada. The sibling in the middle is holding up a certificate with a coat of arms at the top and a large red maple leaf at the bottom. In the next image they are standing with a citizenship official. One sibling is now holding a Canadian flag in addition to the certificate being displayed.]

[In front of a red backdrop with many words such as “Access”, “Potential”, “Arts”, “Investment”, et cetera in several different fonts, Isabel stands holding a bouquet of red roses and is flanked on either side by her mother and father who are dressed in business attire. The three are all smiling at the camera.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: They're getting used to it. [laughs]

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: They're-they're proud. They're really proud and happy.

[Repeat scene of “Abroad” dressing room.]

>> Isabel Kanaan: [“Abroad” character] All right, let's make a deal. I keep learning about you and your stories by watching “Law and Order.” [speaking Tagalog: And you keep learning about me too] by watching “Abroad”.]

[Repeat scene of “Abroad” dressing room.]

So, representation matters.

[Repeat title sequence scene of “Abroad”.]

It-it makes you feel like you matter.

[Isabel looking at footage in the editing room.]

I wanted kids to not go through the same thing that I did when I first moved.

[Byron and Isabel walk down the sidewalk of a suburban residential street lined on both sides with single-family houses and cars in the driveways. Isabel is animated in her speech and Byron begins to laugh.]

When I first moved, I felt lonely. I felt like I wasn't seen. I felt like my story didn't matter.

[Interview of Isabel in the living room.]

And I don't want that to happen for new immigrants.

[Still photographs cycle of Isabel Kanaan at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards. First, Isabel stands with Andrei Preda posed in front of a black backdrop with logos spaced out from “Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television”, “Telefilm Canada”, “Netflix”, “Bell Media”, “Cineplex”, et cetera. They are dressed in formal attire and are posed for the camera. The next image is a close-up portrait of Isabel in front of the same black backdrop.]

I just want new immigrant children and kids and adults to-to feel like they don't need to hide being themselves. And understand that they add to the strength of what it means to be Canadian.

[Repeat scene of heavily treed space with the high rises and CN Tower of downtown Toronto in the far distance. The camera closes in on Isabel who looks up from her computer. In the next image, a zoomed-in view of the high rises and CN Tower in the distance through Isabel’s eyes. Isabel then stands smiling at the camera, with downtown Toronto in the far distance behind her.]

[Gentle music]

[Fade to title]

[Title: Bags 2 Riches]

[“Bags 2 Riches” and “Simplii Financial” fade to black.]

[Gentle music ends]