Bianca Catbagan Explores a Queer Reinterpretation of Maria Clara in ‘Royal Blood’

Bianca Catbagan, a Filipino filmmaker now based in Los Angeles, is set to bring her historical drama ‘Royal Blood’ to life as part of the American Film Institute’s prestigious Directing Workshop for Women+. She is only the third Filipino filmmaker in 50 years to be accepted into this program. ‘Royal Blood’ reimagines the iconic José Rizal character Maria Clara through a sapphic lens, exploring themes of desire, identity, and conformity in a late 19th-century Manila setting. Catbagan collaborates with British Filipino filmmaker Andrea A. Walter on the screenplay, and the film stars Elena Heuzé and Sam Morelos. Despite being filmed in Los Angeles due to program requirements, Catbagan maintains a strong connection to her Manila roots, drawing inspiration from her own experiences and earlier works such as ‘Letters to the Future’ and ‘Apartment 605.’ The filmmaker’s work focuses on female experiences, queer perspectives, and the politics of desire, challenging traditional notions of Filipino femininity while reflecting universal themes of self-discovery, suppression, and emotional growth. Catbagan emphasizes that the film, while featuring queer characters, deals with universal teenage emotions like jealousy, heartbreak, and longing, offering a complex and nuanced reinterpretation of a historical cultural figure.