From Shadow and Act:
The main program of the Berlin International Film Festival Panorama section will include Takeshi Fukunaga’s directorial debut, "Out of My Hand," about a worker on a Liberian rubber plantation who wants to get away from a life overshadowed by civil war, and so moves to New York where he lives a new life as a taxi driver.
The film was made with support from the Liberian government and its Movie Union, who sponsored the shoot, and offered to pay for travel for its Liberian cast and crew, for the New York portion of production.
The film's stars (Bishop Blay, Zenobia Kpoto), as well as of its cast for the Liberia portion of the shoot, are played by Librerians, who, for the majority, are acting for the very first time. As the filmmakers state: "We consider ourselves very fortunate to have found such an extraordinarily talented cast in Liberia. There are of course few opportunities for actors to practice their craft in the country of Liberia, due to its small, but resiliently passionate film community. Our hope is that this film will shine light on them, and hopefully contribute in whatever small way to bringing still greater opportunities for them to do what they love." More here