TLDR;
Relocating from Lagos to California brought filmmaker and entertainer Mo’Cheddah greater calm, a new perspective on her career and the confidence to pursue international film opportunities. Comparing Nollywood with Hollywood, she highlights Nollywood’s resourcefulness while calling for stronger planning, production standards and financial safeguards. She also reflects on royalties, adapting to a new industry, protecting African cultural accuracy and finding peace away from Lagos.
- Nollywood crews are inventive and work quickly, but the industry would benefit from better pre-production, safety practices and secure handling of film budgets.
- International streaming platforms need to understand local audiences and build sustainable operations; Nigeria’s market has potential, but discipline and awareness of global practices matter.
- Relocation prompted her to reconsider fame, work standards and her ambitions, while giving her the space to breathe and develop as a filmmaker.
Why Moving to America Changed My Life [0:00]
When her husband agreed that the family could relocate, the circumstances that had previously prevented the move finally aligned. She felt the timing was right and says moving was one of the best decisions she has made. The change brought greater calm and affected her mindset and how she carries herself. Returning to Lagos now feels different, because her perspective has changed.
Hollywood vs. Nollywood: The Real Differences [1:02]
After working on a few projects in Hollywood, she distinguishes mainstream Hollywood productions from other US films that may operate more like Nollywood. Nollywood’s strengths include speed, resourcefulness and making limited budgets go further: because producers are often spending their own money, crews work back-to-back and find ways to make things work. This can also create problems, including fatigue, accidents and work that is not done thoroughly.
Hollywood productions, by contrast, follow strict guild rules and set limits on working hours. Frequent smoke and coffee breaks initially frustrated her, especially when the crew had to stop just as the work was gaining momentum. She believes Nollywood could learn from Hollywood’s standards and preparation, while Hollywood could benefit from Nollywood’s practical problem-solving and efficiency. Both industries need a better balance between discipline, proper breaks and getting the job done.
Production Standards and Protecting Film Budgets [4:17]
She says Nollywood crews often make do when something goes wrong, with people pitching in across job boundaries to find a solution. That flexibility can help productions, but it can also mean that responsibilities are unclear or standards are overlooked. She stresses the need for stronger pre-production and better-established practices, including putting production funds in escrow so they are protected until they are needed.
She criticises international organisations that bring funding into Nigeria but fail to enforce the financial procedures they already know should apply. Rather than conforming to weak local practices and leaving the community worse off, they should help establish and maintain clear standards. Misuse of money can happen anywhere, she argues, so safeguards and procedures matter more than assumptions about any one nationality. Consistently following those standards would reduce problems in Nollywood.
“I’ve Only Been Duped in America” [5:53]
She says that, in five years in America, she has only been “duped” by organised bodies, with the relevant terms hidden in the legal small print; she says she has not had that experience in Nigeria. Her point is not that people in one country are more likely to misuse money than people in another. Instead, clear rules and procedures are needed to prevent opportunities and funds from being abused. Applying such standards consistently could help Nollywood avoid many past problems.
Why International Streaming Platforms Struggled in Nigeria [6:41]
She notes that low subscriber numbers may have contributed to international streaming platforms struggling in Nigeria. Sharing accounts is common in a family-oriented culture, which can make subscriptions harder to sustain. However, she believes Nigeria still has a large enough audience to support these services if they understand local people, remain committed and operate with discipline.
She also says audiences and industry professionals can be isolated from global practices. Before relocating, much of her attention was focused on her life and work in Nigeria. Living abroad made her recognise how much she needed to learn and reconsider assumptions she had taken for granted.
What Relocating Forced Me to Unlearn [8:11]
Relocation made her adjust to different everyday expectations, including communicating through direct messages and taking work more humbly. In Nigeria, she had become used to being treated as a star; in Hollywood, comparing her work with productions from around the world made her realise that reputation and praise at home did not mean she had reached the same level in quality or experience. Even small professional details, such as appropriate footwear for crew members on set, reflected standards she had not previously considered.
She also discovered a major difference in royalties. After only five years working in Los Angeles, she had a pile of residual-payment envelopes waiting for her, despite having been there for just three days before returning. After 30 years in Nigeria, she had never received a comparable envelope or a cheque following a film’s success. The contrast made her question how Nollywood handles the ongoing value and earnings of film work.
Hollywood Royalties vs. 30 Years in Nollywood [9:30]
The envelopes she received in Los Angeles contained residuals—payments made when work continues to earn or is used after its initial release. She had worked in Hollywood for five years and still had residuals waiting for her, whereas decades of work in Nigeria had brought no comparable payments. She jokes that the postal service may not know her address, but the deeper point is that Nollywood has not developed a reliable system for sending performers and creatives their share of a project’s continuing success.
Why I Finally Left Nigeria [10:34]
Relocation was not a decision she made once and pursued immediately; opportunities had come earlier, but she turned them down. In 2010, after her second album, she had an opportunity connected to Universal Studios and a place in a band. In 2013, after being named to the TIME 100 list and appearing on CNN, she said she would stay in Nigeria and build her career there, like Bob Marley had built his from Jamaica.
At the time, she had no compelling reason to leave, and her husband did not want to relocate, so she worried that moving alone could disrupt the family. The COVID period changed her thinking: people had died, life had changed, and she did not want to regret passing up an opportunity that had appeared three times. Although starting over felt daunting and she wanted to stay in her comfort zone, her husband supported the move. With the circumstances finally aligned, she took the chance and says it was one of her best decisions.
Finding Peace Away From Lagos [13:16]
Relocating has made her feel calmer, and returning to Lagos can feel as if she did not grow up there because her outlook has changed. She describes Lagos as hectic, with constant invitations, parties and pressure to impress others. In California, she feels less pressure to dress for premieres, hire a makeup artist, hairstylist and stylist, or rush to post photographs before blogs publish unflattering ones.
She recognises that these pressures exist elsewhere too, but finds them especially intense in Lagos, where public attention can feel like living inside a pressure cooker. In Los Angeles she can breathe, walk around and sometimes be recognised without the same intensity. After working in the industry since she was 15, she says she needs and deserves that peace.
The Room: Afropolitan’s Private Community [15:16]
Afropolitan introduces The Room, a members-only community on Patreon for entrepreneurs and ambitious people in the diaspora. Members can access behind-the-scenes material, connect with one another, use shared playbooks and take part in detailed discussions of specific industries. The hosts describe it as a practical toolkit for people building businesses, as well as a place where members can feel less alone when others in their immediate circles do not understand their goals.
Starting Over and Leaving Your Ego Behind [16:09]
Starting over in a new industry meant moving from being well-known in her home environment to being one of many people learning and working in Hollywood. She gives an example from a major project where she advised a supervisor that an Igbo-speaking performer’s language did not fit the Yoruba region represented in the film; the character might use Pidgin instead. The supervisor thanked her but said the studio did not care about getting the detail right, which deeply upset her.
She wanted to challenge the supervisor, asking whether the same disregard would be shown towards European or Asian cultures. Instead, she reminded herself that she was new to the environment and chose to walk away rather than react immediately. She sees such moments as tests of patience: she must remember the larger goal, keep her vision in mind and use the experience as motivation to help improve representation over time.
Standing Up for African Culture in Hollywood [16:47]
The experience of having African languages and regional identities treated carelessly made her feel protective of her culture. She objected to the idea that cultural accuracy did not matter, particularly when the project was earning money from African stories. Although she felt tempted to confront the supervisor forcefully, she chose not to let anger undermine her position as a newcomer.
She believes that working outside her comfort zone requires learning when to challenge people and when to wait for a better opportunity. She hopes to become part of the people who correct such misrepresentations in the future. Keeping her larger purpose in view, she treats the experience as fuel to work harder for African culture to be represented accurately.
How Relocating Changed My Ambition as a Filmmaker [19:50]
Relocating made her more willing to show her film at festivals. Without the move, she says, she would have been too afraid to pursue that route. The project came together unexpectedly while she was visiting, rather than through a deliberate plan: one thing led to another and she made the film.
Because she had not completed as much pre-production as she would have wanted, she initially felt uncertain about the result, even though audiences and other people later responded positively. Exposure to Hollywood and its wider professional networks helped her imagine ambitions beyond what she might have attempted before.
