What Doesn't Float

“Seven stories. One city. A group of characters fill out this darkly comedic anthology of New Yorkers at their wits end. When the dailiness of urban life is suspended by unforeseen conflict, each character must make a decision. While the outcomes vary, a unified sense of the city emerges: New York becomes a mirror to the ego reflecting our true character, while the rest sinks to the bottom.”^[4]

Writer Shauna Fitzgerald and producer Pauline Chalamet were at dinner, having a conversation about the weird things that make New York City "unlivable", director Luca Balser happened to pass by, and joined the conversation. The three of them realized they could make a film about their experiences living in the city.^[5] Although the stories are often dark, Balser and Fitzgerald thought it was very important to find the humor in them, as it was "the only way to get over these moments in life."^[5] The story that star Chalamet was based on a real experience, Fitzgerald observed, where the motorcyclist actually jumped in the water. The goldfish story was based on an article they read about a similar event, "It was the perfect story, but ours is a little bit darker," Balser said.^[5] The anthology format was inspired by the 2014 film Wild Tales, and the fact, that it would be cheaper to shoot one story at a time.^[6]

To make the movie Balser, Chalamet, and co-producer Rachel Walden, needed an LLC for the money they used for filming. They filed the LLC in Atlanta, where Walden is from, and created Gummy Films, which started as a collective and now functions as a production and post-production company, run by them.^[5][7][8]

The film began production in 2019, and was shot "piecemeal". Chalamet's vignette was shot in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and at Floyd Bennett Field, a World War II airport turned national park. They didn't have a permit to film inside, so they were kicked out multiple times: "We were like stealing the shot, leave, steal a shot here, move, steal the shot here," Balser recalled. They also filmed around Park Slope and other parts of the city.^[5] Due to budget constraints, and working on other projects, the film took four years to be released.^[5]

What Doesn't Float premiered at the Lighthouse International Film Festival on June 10, 2023.^[1] That same month Circle Collective acquired distribution rights to the film. It will begin a theatrical release in the United States on September 22, 2023.^[9] The film was granted a SAG-AFTRA interim agreement so lead actress Pauline Chalamet would be able to do promotion for it.^[10]