Tanya Price Is Building Bridges Between Hollywood and Nollywood

Tanya Price never thought she’d watch Nigerian actors make snowballs for the first time while running a Nollywood production in Utah’s mountains. That’s what happened during “Revelations,” her production company’s first film and her boldest experiment in mixing two very different movie worlds.

Price works between America and Nigeria like few others in film. She started with AY Makun’s “Christmas in Miami” in 2021, then moved to this winter collaboration with Richard Mofe-Damijo in Utah. Now she’s trying to connect Hollywood and Nollywood in ways nobody has done before.

“Revelations” comes out August 15, and Price looks back on how a phone call from a friend turned into something bigger – showing what happens when two film industries work together. 

In an exclusive interview with The Nollywood Reporter, she talks about the hard parts, what she learned, and the special moments from this unusual production.

How “Revelations” Started

“Revelations” began when Richard Mofe-Damijo called Price with a big idea: he wanted to make his first film in America. For Price, this meant more than just acting – she had to start Queen Tutt Productions as a bona fide business.

“Queen Tutt Productions came about when Richard approached me and told me he wanted to produce his first film in the U.S.,” Price explains. “In order to do that, I had to open my production company because we had to film here – I had to run the production legally through my company so we could pay the cast and crew and pay taxes. Everything was done by the book.”

Price had worked as a co-producer before, but “Revelations” was her first time running her own licensed production company. The film became her chance to handle both the creative work and business side, setting things up for future projects like her comedy “Lost in Lagos” and the just finished “The Present Help.”

The vision for “Revelations” was deliberately groundbreaking. Price and her team wanted to create something that hadn’t been done before in Nollywood – a film that would challenge expectations and introduce new elements to audiences familiar with traditional Nigerian storytelling.

Snow, Surgery, and Western Inclusion

“We are excited to bring something new to the table that hopefully will be very intriguing for the Nollywood audience by providing them with something that hasn’t been done before,” Price says. “We wanted to do something groundbreaking.”

The elements they chose were striking in their departure from typical Nollywood settings: filming in Utah’s winter landscape, incorporating Western visual aesthetics, and featuring detailed medical surgery sequences. Each choice was intentional, designed to expand the boundaries of what Nollywood cinema could encompass.

The decision to film in snow presented immediate logistical challenges. Many of Price’s cast and crew members had never experienced winter weather, let alone worked in it. “The challenges were significant because a lot of my cast and crew had never seen snow,” she recalls. “The weather conditions here in Utah can be very harsh and very cold, so I had to try to keep people warm.”

But these challenges came with unexpected rewards. Price found herself witnessing magical moments as her collaborators encountered snow for the first time. “I remember Chioma, her first time seeing snow and picking up and packing up a little snowball. It was really fun to see. I remember another day on set; it was snowing and Chioma went outside to catch snowflakes in her hand.”

The weather also created genuinely dangerous situations that would become part of the production’s lore. During one particularly harrowing evening, the crew found themselves driving down a mountain canyon in a complete whiteout blizzard. “Robert Peters was driving our equipment trailer and it was so scary. Everybody prayed all the way down the canyon because it’s a steep drive coming down the canyon and the roads were just icy and snowy, and we couldn’t even see. Our vision was just a whiteout storm.”

The memory has since become something the team can laugh about, but it illustrates the very real risks they took to capture something unique. “We can laugh about it now because we all lived, but that was a very scary drive coming through the canyon down the mountain after filming in a terrible blizzard.”

The Melissa Voke Character: Balancing Professional Success and Personal Struggle

In “Revelations,” Price takes on the role of Melissa Voke, an oncologist whose professional competence masks deep personal turmoil. The character represents a complex exploration of how successful people navigate private struggles while maintaining public facades.

“Playing Melissa – there’s a lot of depth to her character because she is very professional and has a career as an oncologist but also is battling struggles at home with fertility that’s affecting her marriage,” Price explains. “There’s definitely a battle there between home life and career life.”

The duality appealed to Price because it reflected a universal human experience. “I think it just shows that she’s human behind the scenes. Life isn’t always what you think it might be – there are things that people are battling or struggles that they have behind the scenes that you don’t see. In her professional field, her life is very professional and put together, but behind the scenes, she’s falling apart a little bit.”

The role allowed Price to explore the contrast between public competence and private vulnerability, themes that resonate regardless of cultural background. “It was a fun character to play where there are definitely two sides of her story.”

 The RMD and Oghenetega Dynamic

One of the most compelling aspects of the “Revelations” production was the opportunity to work with Richard Mofe-Damijo alongside his son, Tega, who was making his film debut. Price had a front-row seat to witness this family collaboration unfold professionally.

“Working with the two of them together was so magical. It was so beautiful seeing them on set together for the first time because this was Tega’s first movie and the fact that he got to share that experience with his father was so beautiful to see,” Price reflects.

What struck her most was how professionally both men approached their work relationship on set. Despite their family connection, Richard Mofe-Damijo treated his son with the same standards he would apply to any other actor. “On set, you wouldn’t know that it was a fnt on set because Tega was his son.”

The approach paid off in Tega’s performance. Despite being new to film acting, he rose to meet the emotional demands of his role. “Even Tega, for his first time on screen, he had some very emotional scenes, and he brought the tears, and he brought the emotion – oh my goodness, he did amazing.”

The Producer’s Burden: Wearing Multiple Hats on an Independent Production

While Price had experience as a co-producer, running her own production company for an international collaboration taught her new lessons about responsibility and stamina. The independent nature of the project meant she couldn’t limit herself to just producing and acting – she became a one-woman coordination operation.

“I learned I wouldn’t sleep until the movie wrapped,” she says with a laugh. “It was a lot because not just as a producer and an actress but, because it was an independent film, I wore a lot of hats and ended up doing location scouting, casting, set design, accounting – you know, the picture car coordinator, the list goes on.”

The experience was exhausting but educational. “I ended up wearing a lot of hats, so it was very challenging because there was so much on my plate and so much responsibility for me bringing the production to Utah. When I say I learned I wouldn’t sleep till we wrapped, there is truth to that. It was busy, but it was good.”

This baptism by fire prepared Price for future projects and gave her a deep appreciation for the various crafts that go into filmmaking. It also reinforced her commitment to running professional, legitimate productions that meet industry standards.

 The Future of Cross-Cultural Cinema

From Price’s perspective, the lack of Nollywood awareness in American markets isn’t about quality – it’s about exposure.

“When I told people here in Utah, I was bringing a Nollywood production here, nobody knew what Nollywood was. It’s just something that they haven’t heard of or haven’t experienced,” she explains. “But once they met Richard and started watching some of his movies, there’s that excitement like, ‘Oh wow, we didn’t know this existed. This is beautiful.'”

This reaction reinforces her belief that cross-cultural collaborations can serve as crucial bridges between the industries. “I think doing the cross-cultural collaborations is a good way to bridge that gap to combine and introduce Nollywood here. I know Hollywood’s been introduced there, but not so much with cross-cultural collaborations.”

Price sees projects like “Revelations” as part of a growing movement that will eventually bring Nollywood fuller recognition in American markets. “I think it’s just a matter of time before Nollywood is more readily embraced here in the United States. Not because the films aren’t amazing – it’s just because that film industry hasn’t really penetrated into our industry.”

 Learning Through Collaboration

Beyond the professional challenges, working with international cast and crew provided Price with unexpected cultural education. The most immediate lesson involved practical preparation for Utah’s climate.

“My cast and crew from outside of Utah learned very quickly they were not prepared for Utah weather. As they arrived, I realized I had to start handing out coats, hats, gloves and getting people prepared for the weather,” she remembers.

But the cultural exchange went deeper than weather preparedness. Price found herself learning about different approaches to filmmaking, diverse ways of building on-set relationships, and different perspectives on storytelling. These lessons have influenced how she approaches subsequent projects and have strengthened her conviction about the value of international collaboration.

The Performance Challenge

Despite the emotional demands of their roles, Price was impressed by how naturally her cast handled the on-camera challenges. The real difficulties, she notes, came from the production circumstances rather than the acting requirements.

“No, I don’t think on screen there was anything that was particularly too challenging. For me, the challenges definitely came off screen, and I think I can speak for everybody when I say the challenges came from off screen,” she reflects. “I feel like everybody embraced their roles so beautifully, whether it was an emotional scene, a crying scene – I feel like they handled those scenes very well.”

This observation speaks to the professionalism of her cast and also highlights how much of filmmaking success depends on logistical planning and problem-solving rather than just acting ability. The weather, the unfamiliar environment, and the complex production requirements created more obstacles than the script itself.

Mentorship and Future Collaborations

Price’s journey into Nollywood began with AY Makun, who cast her in “Christmas in Miami” and introduced her to an industry she hadn’t known existed. This experience has left her deeply grateful and eager to work with him again.

“I wouldn’t even know that Nollywood existed if it weren’t for A.Y., so I’m very indebted to him and I would love to collaborate with him on another project because he’s the reason I’m here doing what I’m doing.”

She also speaks highly of Robert Peters, describing him as “a gentle giant” who has served as a mentor throughout her Nollywood journey. “I would love to work with Robert Peters again. I’ve worked with him before, but he is so fabulous and so kind. I like to say he’s just a gentle giant, and he has been such a mentor to me.”

Price has also formed a meaningful professional relationship with Emem Isong Misodi, serving on the board of her African Cultural Film Festival in Houston. This role has expanded Price’s understanding of African cinema beyond just Nigerian productions. “As a judge and a part of the African Cultural Film Festival, I get to watch films from all over Africa from all different countries. It’s kind of opened my eyes more to filming in general.”

Among her co-stars from “Revelations,” Price is particularly eager to work again with Chioma, praising both her acting ability and her character. “I would love to work with Chioma on a project. I know as an actress she was so fabulous and so beautiful, and she’s somebody who’s not just beautiful on the outside but the inside as well.”

What’s Next: Comedy, Romance, and New Challenges

After a string of dramatic roles, Price is ready to explore lighter material. She admits that while she’s capable of emotional scenes, they’re not necessarily her preference. “It seems like I’ve done so many dramatic films lately, not just in Nollywood but here in Hollywood. I’ve had a lot of dramatic roles and I’ve done a lot of crying, and I don’t necessarily love crying on camera – I have a very ugly cry face.”

Her upcoming projects reflect this desire for variety. “Lost in Lagos,” currently in production under Queen Tutt Productions in collaboration with Peekaboo Productions and producer Darlington Abuda, represents her move into comedy. “I do have a comedy in the works. When I said I have a project – we actually started some production in Utah; we’ve already filmed some scenes that we’re going to film in Nigeria. It’s called ‘Lost in Lagos,’ but that’s a comedy I’m looking forward to.”

She’s also completed “The Present Help,” another collaboration with Richard Mofe-Damijo that was filmed in Utah in June. This faith-based film will be released later this year, adding to Price’s growing catalogue of cross-cultural productions.

Looking ahead, Price expresses interest in exploring new genres, including romantic comedies and action films. “I would love to do more comedy, more light-hearted films. I love rom coms, which are the romantic comedies. I would love to do a rom-com. I like to do different genres – you don’t want to just be stereotyped as always filming one particular type of film or character, but I think I look forward to doing some more light-hearted shows.”

What’s Coming Next

With “Revelations” hitting screens August 15, Price keeps working on projects that bring American and Nigerian filmmakers together. 

“This is just the beginning,” she says about Queen Tutt Productions and her cross-cultural work. “There’s a lot to look forward to.”