‘Subway Takes’ Host Kareem Rahma in NYC Romance

Kareem Rahma is best known for his viral “Subway Takes” videos, but the “Poker Face” actor is now fictionalizing his MetroCard adventures for the big screen with indie “Or Something.” Rahma co-writes and co-stars alongside fellow writer/actor Mary Neely in the feature, which is billed as a contemporary take on “Before Sunrise.”

The official synopsis for “Or Something” reads: “Two strangers, Olivia (Neely) and Amir (Rahma), show up at the same Brooklyn apartment to collect cash they’re both owed. Forced to spend the day together on a journey through New York City, the pair reveal intimate details about their lives. The duo are stuck together on the subway, eating lunch, walking through Central Park, and bonding over disagreements about sex, dating, religion, and death. One of them also happens to be hiding a harrowing secret…” David Zayas co-stars.

Jeffrey Scotti Schroeder makes his directorial debut with the film; Pete Ohs edits the indie. Schroeder, Rahma, Neely, Dan Blackwell, and Sophia Heriveaux produce. Cinematography is by Jeff Leeds Cohn.

Ohs, who previously edited Harris’ documentary “Slave Play. Not a Movie. A Play.,” recently directed horror film “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick.” He is also helming the upcoming indie “Erupcja” starring frequent collaborator Jeremy O. Harris and Charli XCX. “The True Beauty of Being Bitten by a Tick” actor Harris applauded how prolific Ohs is.

“Working with Pete so intimately as an editor on my documentary, I was able to witness firsthand how his mind worked and wanted to go deeper. When the offer to work on another film as an actor, co-writer and producer emerged, it felt like the perfect opportunity,” Harris told IndieWire. “As a lover of independent film, the chance to collaborate with a voice as dynamic and sure as his while also focusing more on process than product felt too unique to pass up. He’s prolific to an insane degree. In less than two years we’ve now collaborated on three films together. … He’s right at the beating heart of what being truly independent in cinema can mean.”

Factory 25 will release “Or Something” on Friday, August 22 in New York City at the Quad for a weeklong run and in Los Angeles on Friday, September 14 for a special engagement at Braindead. Check out the film’s trailer, an IndieWire exclusive, below.