LOGLINE

A jazz pianist and DoorDash driver in Chicago risks everything to repay a dangerous debt, as music, family, and survival collide in his double life.

SYNOPSIS

A struggling jazz pianist and DoorDash driver navigates a dangerous debt while chasing his musical dreams. As pressure mounts from family and criminal ties, he’s forced to confront the cost of survival—and the sacrifices ambition demands when the stakes are life or death.

ARTISTIC STATEMENT

Take Five was born from a feeling I couldn’t shake—the quiet, gnawing sense that time is slipping away while you chase a dream no one believes in but you. As a filmmaker and jazz lover raised in a working-class immigrant household, I’ve lived in the tension between artistic pursuit and practical survival. This film is an attempt to hold that tension to the light and study its shape. Karim, the protagonist, is a jazz pianist working as a DoorDash driver to make ends meet. He lives in the shadows of other people’s expectations—his mother’s loyalty to stability, his brother’s medical success, his own unfinished promise. When he falls into a criminal side hustle that mimics his food delivery job, he finds himself seduced by the illusion of momentum. Suddenly he’s moving fast, earning money, being “useful.” But he’s not creating. He’s surviving. Stylistically, Take Five is grounded, tactile, and rhythmic. We follow Karim through the windshield of his beat-up Toyota as he drifts through Chicago’s neighborhoods—the jazz clubs, gas stations, alleys, and homes that form the map of his daily life. I want the audience to feel the weight of every decision, every delivery, every moment he chooses to keep going rather than turn around. Music functions as both a character and a compass, with original jazz pieces threaded throughout the film to reflect Karim’s inner world. Silence, too, plays a vital role—when the music stops, what’s left? Thematically, I’m exploring the quiet violence of capitalism on creative identity, especially for second-generation immigrants trying to honor their family’s sacrifices while forging their own path. This film doesn’t offer clean resolutions. It dwells in ambiguity, in moral compromise, in choices made out of desperation rather than defiance. I want viewers to see their own compromises in Karim’s. As a director, I’m drawn to stories that live in the margins—stories that are intimate, emotionally rigorous, and unapologetically specific. I believe specificity breeds universality. I’m not interested in making a film about “dreamers” in the abstract; I’m interested in this dreamer, in this place, at this moment in time. Take Five is my most personal work to date. It’s also my most urgent. The jazz, the hustle, the loneliness, the fractured masculinity, the family dynamics—it’s all pulled from my own life and the lives of people I love. This is the film I wish I had seen when I was 22 and lost. I’m making it now for the ones still out there, drifting, hoping they’re not too late.

KEY CREW

Suhaib Qasim - Director, Writer, Lead Actor

Growing up in the digital age, Suhaib explored his passion for filmmaking as a kid uploading music videos and comedic short films onto YouTube. This led to an interest in narrative film, directing him to NYU Tisch School of the Arts' Summer Filmmaking Program at age 17. While there, he wrote and directed the short film "Temporal Fears" about his struggles with religious identity. Temporal Fears was accepted into the All American High School Film Festival in New York two months later. Suhaib is now a renowned filmmaker known for his prestigious and award-winning work. With a focus on storytelling and character-driven narratives, Suhaib's expertise in the field of filmmaking is showcased through his exceptional portfolio. His artistic talent and unique approach to filmmaking set him apart in the industry, making him a sought-after professional for compelling narratives and commercials.

Matthew Gans - Cinematographer

Matthew Gans is a visual storyteller with almost a decade of experience in both client-facing and behind the scenes video production. He excels in all aspects of the field from large scale team event production, solo documentary storytelling, and video-marketing in both team oriented projects as well as a leader.

Connor Dalrymple - Producer

Connor Dalrymple is a Chicago-based filmmaker with a B.F.A. in Cinema and Television Directing from Columbia College Chicago. He has over half a decade of experience in all areas of filmmaking, and strives to create a positive and safe space for artists to feel comfortable sharing their art.

Zerak Hussain - Producer, Assistant Director

Zerak Hussain is a gifted filmmaker and producer with experience in sales, brand videography, and social media management. His short film work includes "Insomnia," "A Story Only You Can Tell," where he served as DP for the former, and producer and director for the latter.

Riley Killian - Gaffer

Hailing from Appleton, Wisconsin, Riley Killian's journey from a small-town artist to an award-winning filmmaker is a testament to the power of passion, perseverance, and a boundless imagination. Within each frame, he weaves together narratives that touch the hearts and minds of audiences worldwide, reminding us of the transformative power of storytelling.