This Has To Mean More
An Interview with Ander Kazmerski on August 7, 2026

Excerpt from my book, 2026 (coming soon).

      Ander, like so many other people in my life, is someone I met through Instagram circa 2018. Since then, he’s become a collaborator, friend, and is also a fellow West Philly resident.

He co-owns a production company, Floating Home Films, with business partner Alex Weiser.

Since meeting, we’ve collaborated on short films (investing our own time and energy) and commercial projects for various industries.  This seems to be the general nucleus that film projects revolve around. You find your tribe of people, make cool stuff with them, then bring them on paid gigs to return the favor (and sometimes you just enjoy hanging out).

    In addition to all of this, Ander is someone else that I frequently hit the streets with to do photography. On these walk-and-talks, we often talk about the business and economics of running production companies and being full-time freelancers in the film world. The common challenge of being content with our current state comes up, and we reflect on that: where we're at, where we'd like to go, and how we try to get there.

Lastly and fun fact, I've never seen Ander wear a coat. Being from Rochester, this man will wear shorts when it's a blizzard and have you questioning your own perception of reality. And that's just one of the things I love about this guy.

All photos taken by me, except where noted.

How would you describe Philly?

    How would I describe Philly? Man, that's a really good question. I'm trying to think if… I've been here for ten years now.

I think my first impression was that it was a pretty cool, small city that I was really impressed with how clean and old it looked. I don't know why that was my first impression, but I remember thinking it was really clean.

Wow, it's a clean city. I've never heard anyone say that.

    It felt that way. I think there was just like the vibe of West Philly. I was like, this is a cool neighborhood. It felt a little bit less like moving into the heart of a city. But we were really close to the city. And I like that.

West Philly (Cedar Park area) has that eclectic, diverse, liberal, educated type of feel.

    Totally. Yeah, that's true. Which I don't know. Maybe I identify with because that's kind of a Rochester feel.

What's your favorite restaurant in Philly?

    I would have to plug Honeysuckle. The menu changes all the time. The things that have stayed the same are like when you first sit down. They have this acorn bread that they make and it's super delicious. It's kind of like in the pumpernickel bread world but not really. They soak it in this delicious butter and it's just kind of crisp, kind of soggy, like perfectly cooked. It’s delightful.

All right, another question I've been asking people is something you're scared of right now. What's a fear you have?

    In the work world, I'm scared of becoming stagnant. And not growing. I feel like the work has been fairly steady and similar. Like three or four years. I do think we're doing better work. In time. But I don't think we’re pushing ourselves. I don't think the company is growing in the way that I want it to grow. And I worry about what that means for the future.

How do you measure that?

    Part of it is financial growth at the end of each year. Stepping back and taking a look at meeting our goals. Are we growing as much as we'd like? And I think the answer has been yes but, the last year and a half or so feels like, maybe we've plateaued a little.
    And then from a creative level like I want to be doing more. Like two to three day docs instead of the tourism stuff, the hype reels. I really enjoy even in the pharma world and the medical world, I like those two to three day docs that are challenging. There's a lot of pre-production involved. There's a lot of production challenges. The stories are real. And there's a lot of client challenges but it all feels collaborative. And I like those.

So is it part of a search for meaning in the work, or value in the work?

    Yeah, kind of. I do feel like a lot of the work we're doing now, like anybody could do it, which you can probably say that a lot about a lot of work, but I just feel like the world could have the content we're making or it could not and nothing will matter.
    And I'm not getting a lot out of it. I'm having fun. You know, I like the people that I'm working with but the experiences don't feel like something I'll remember in a couple of years.
    I used to have a lot of fond memories of the pharma work we used to do. You know pre COVID. We'd be with patients or doctors, inserting ourselves into their lives for two days and become really close with them and film their family and film their story. You go to a random town, city, like there'd be an experience, life experience built in around it. That was part of what I loved about my work in that way, which I imagine you might get from your travel work because you're also traveling.

So what do you want to do? What do you feel like you're best at? Or you get the most joy from?

    I've been thinking a lot about this, and I think it's directing docs. I don't like directing talent and actors.
    In documentaries, I can lean into letting a moment sit and just play out, in a way where I think a lot of, in my experience, a lot of talent, like actors, are looking for direction or feedback, in a way that I'm not always confident enough to give. But in documentaries, I love just sitting back and watching, and kind of like throwing in questions and poking a scene, but letting it unfold and watching it in that way.
    And in interviews, I love directing interviews, and interviewing people, but I think I'm better at producing it, and like pre-production, bringing a project and a team together, and being on set and managing. I feel like I enjoy that slightly less, but I can do that stuff in my sleep, and I can pull off productions anywhere, and in some pretty insane timelines, so that stuff doesn't bother me. I feel like I'm probably the best at just doing that.