From Film to DJing: Patricia Olomajeye’s Multifaceted Life in Beijing

Lately, I have been on a mission to feature more cool female residents of Beijing, because I think we are in no shortage of interesting women in town. This much I can say, dear reader: Seek and ye shall find. And while I am hoping to gradually cover profiles from a range of fields, today we will be focusing on cinema and music, namely, Patricia Olomajeye, also known as Cleopatri by means of an artistic moniker. 

She hails from Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and she juggles her film studies at the prestigious Beijing Film Academy with her budding career as a DJ. I first became acquainted with her through a recent event at Migas Mercado, featuring an all-female lineup of European DJs. She also has a documentary coming out in May, which has to be just one of the many exciting things in store for her future. We met at Zarah for a drink, and we talked about chasing your aspirations, holding space for the unexpected and trying to keep up with the hectic nature of Beijing. You definitely don’t want to miss out on this interview. 

Hi, Patricia! Shall we go for an intro to start things off?
Sure! I’ve been here in Beijing for a year and a half, pursuing my bachelor’s degree at the Beijing Film Academy, in the heart of Nanluoguxiang. I’m studying film as part of a small, international cohort, and I am looking forward to spending the next few years in this city, finding my step one day at a time, connecting with some really remarkable people and cultivating my own interests in exciting, unexpected ways. 

I first met you in your dimension as a DJ, so I was very surprised to realize that you’re actually involved in cinema. Can you tell us more about that?
Yeah, let’s do it! As far as cinema goes, I have found a wealth of opportunities for my artistic practice in the unique combination of my Spanish background and the methodology involved in film production. Where poets would typically rely on a pen and a piece of paper for their craft, the gaze I cast upon the world around me is often channeled through a camera. In my work, I often delve into the notion of gaps across cultures, as well as what we manifest aloud, or otherwise suppress, about those gaps. I am also really partial to an element of shock in order to incite the audience to place themselves in this ongoing reflection, drawing up their own conclusions and insight. Film seems like a very apt medium for this kind of exploration. 

Can you tell us more about the aesthetics and influences that have served as a source of inspiration in your life?
Though my family moved to the Canary Islands early on in my childhood, I was born in Valencia, Spain. For that reason, I owe some of my earliest, most vivid memories to the brief period I spent in Ruzafa, just south of the historic town center and integrated into the Ensanche district of Valencia. I close my eyes and everything flows back to me: our block with its colorful floors and long, dark hallways, as well as the details of our own home. I picture the American flag hanging next to our large TV set, and I hear in full force the bachata music that would alternate with the rest of our well-stocked music collection from the bookshelves. My father is of African descent, an influence that was subtly yet undeniably present in my life, too. Sundays were for church, a mosaic of dark faces framed in white lace. Worship was accented by vibrant gospel music and borderline pop tunes, and services were typically followed by a flavorful meal of spiced rice. Indeed, I was surrounded by this feast of aesthetics, image and sound from a very early age. 

Movies were also crucial to my upbringing. The very first ones were none other than the ever ubiquitous Disney VHS tapes, with childhood classics spanning from the '30s to the '80s. Something that stood out to me was that many of those films were rather scarce in terms of dialogue and relied instead on classical music for narrative strength. 

You were also inspired by Tim Burton, right?
Yes, his films felt familiar to me in my childhood and first youth. Burton’s characters are romantic renegades who come across in this very authentic way. And I was seeking authenticity myself, which I found in experimental cinema. Nowadays, as a filmmaker, I am also constantly wanting to establish this bond with the audience, where I invite you to experience a film, rather than merely watching it. As a creator, I want to connect the audience to what is ultimately my perception of the world. There’s a certain privacy to it, as well as an element of therapy. You turn yourself inside out, exposing yourself and eventually giving birth to this piece of art that is hopefully unique to you. 

So, how did you take your own first steps in this direction? 
My first cast of actors were my Playmobil figurines! My grandma was fairly skeptical, but I would have it my way; I grabbed her purple Nokia C and recorded for hours just to get a 15-minute movie. No need for edits – the pause button came in so handy, and I just devoted myself to churning out these little films. Innocence is this beautiful quality that we get to carry into the next chapter of our lives, if we are intentional about it, and I have definitely preserved that insatiable desire to experiment and create. 

When I graduated from high school, my family left Mallorca and relocated to Las Palmas. It was time for me to attend university, and since I knew for sure that I wanted to study film, I enrolled at the Canary Islands Film Institute. My freshman year went by, and, soon enough, I realized that I wasn’t all that satisfied with my education there, nor with the future prospects for my degree. I juggled my studies with a part-time gig at this really popular Irish bar that often welcomed crowds of creatives, including folks in the film industry. So I figured I could gain new opportunities by approaching them. I learned tons from this Hindu guy who was doing a short film on the island, and in I helped the team shooting The Mother, a film starring Jennifer López and largely set in Gran Canaria. 

That’s also where you met someone who is no longer in your life but who had a suggestion for you that would change the course of the next few years…
That’s right. A former boyfriend I met in my time at university in Spain witnessed my frustration and showed me the website of the Beijing Film Academy, this really selective school that actually ranks third in the world for film studies nowadays. He suggested I could try and apply for their entrance exams. Sure, I had no guarantees, and if I didn’t manage to gain admission, I’d have to think about some other way. But I could at least give it my best and see what happened, he said. And I figured I had nothing to lose. For the next half a year, I devoted myself to those entrance exams – and you can imagine the rest of the story, because here I am!

Has the program so far met your expectations? How are you finding life here in Beijing? 
To be perfectly honest with you, I had no expectations. And I wouldn’t really be able to conjure an “ordinary” day, because no two days look the same for me. Perhaps that’s one of the most remarkable challenges I have faced: Life in Beijing is always so busy, so hectic. At least that’s my impression, coming from my island life that felt so much more chill and slow-paced. 

This new pace of life is good in some ways, yet I have noticed I sometimes struggle with creativity. Take life at school, for instance. We are incredibly privileged in that we can freely dispose of a wide range of technical equipment and facilities, so much so that we could shoot something akin to a Hollywood film, if we so desired. But the atmosphere can feel saturated at times, and sometimes I feel that the scripts I come up with have very little to do with the stuff I created back home. At the end of the day, shooting looks awfully similar from one project to the next, and the complexities lie in the story you’re narrating and the expectations you hold for it. 

On the bright side, my classmates feel like a tiny chosen family of sorts to me. We are growing together in many ways, constantly supporting each other and navigating life here the best we know. 

Do you see yourself sustaining an intense course of action as a filmmaker in the future?
Again, and for the sake of honesty, perhaps not so much. Some of my classmates do enjoy shooting for hours and hours on end, and I do feel as though I may not entirely be there. But I remain open-minded about my future in film. And then, of course, lately I have been very excited about this new facet to my life as a DJ. 

How did this start for you? Did you actually ever see yourself actively involved with music?
I wanted to, but then again, I kept thinking that it was too daunting a task to juggle it with my film studies, which had indeed been the priority for me. Still, music was this fraction of my consciousness that I unlocked and shared with a select few others. And I guess it was also part of the initial spark with my current partner. He is Chinese and some of our first dates took place in parks and public spaces where he’d take his DJ turntable with him and let me experiment. So while I am most definitely self-taught, I have been learning by his side. 

I would say when you’re DJing, the most important thing is that you have a good ear. At the end of the day, setting up your table isn’t the end-all be-all. There is a technical learning curve of sorts, to be sure, but it’s not all that daunting. The real questions are, what are you going to make of the music that becomes your base? How are you going to mix that base with your own twists, so that you come up with something that will be uniquely yours? Are you able to transmit sensations and make the crowd vibe? 

As a DJ, I am mainly influenced by deep house and techno house, and of course, I do incorporate elements from the many genres of my musical landscape growing up. My father knew a great deal of people from the Latin American diasporic communities in Spain, and at home we listened to their rhythms but also to Led Zeppelin or The Beatles. But even then, I have to channel all that into my own thing as a DJ, when I am behind the tables. See, when I played at Migas, which has been my largest event so far, I could tell that people were enjoying what I was doing, but I was slightly surprised at it, in the sense that to me it wasn’t anything groundbreaking. It’s just my spin on the stuff I like. But I recently realized that it’s in moments like these that you actually notice the weight of your musical taste and experience. 

How did your first opportunities as a DJ come to be in Beijing?
You probably know Leo Furioso from his days running BBB at Beijing, a space where he poured all of his experience as a DJ in his native Milan. Well, he’s obviously retained his maze of contacts in town, and he’s actually also my classmate. So I have been very lucky to secure a series of opportunities at places like TeaTime, DADA, Zarah and La Platea. And then, of course, the Cervantes Institute of Beijing counted on me for this really wonderful night at Migas. It’s been a slow process, and I obviously feel like I have a long road ahead, but it’s very exciting. I try to keep an open mind on the intersections of music and film in my life for the future. We shall see!

Back to cinema briefly, can you tell us more about your documentary? And how can our readers get in touch with you for any potential gigs or opportunities in your fields of artistic creation?
Dreams Come True is this very surrealist project that I am currently shooting and that is focused on, well, dreams! Not so much in the sense of goals or aspirations, but rather the literal dreams we have when we sleep, and the bonds we forge with them, with our innermost mind, with whatever stays repressed inside of us. I am hoping to have this documentary ready in May, and so far it’s been amazing to shoot here in Beijing. Everyone’s so willing to help, so the one thing I would ask from the local community is merely their support once it all sees the light!

I’d be thrilled to connect with venues looking for a DJ, or simply with fellow creatives in town. I can already feel that there’s such a special quality to Beijing in terms of the power that the community holds to bring ideas into reality. Add me on WeChat (ID: Coliflower_888) and let’s stay in touch!

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Images: courtesy of Patricia Olomajeye, Migas Mercado