About
Mike Starchak
Film & TV Series Director
Born in Kyiv in 1981, Mike Starchak has been drawn to humor and storytelling since childhood. Inspired by the sharp satire of Ilf and Petrov and later by Vladimir Voinovich’s novel about soldier Chonkin, he developed a passion for creative expression. However, his path to filmmaking was anything but conventional. He first attended Kyiv medical school, where he founded a student theater group and won a major student theater festival. Later, he pursued acting at a Ukrainian theater university, and finally, he studied directing at the Russian State University of Cinematography in Moscow.
During film school, Mike spent three years working on Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, staging multiple interpretations of the play. This experience taught him how to build atmosphere on screen, bring scenes to life, and translate text into compelling visuals. After graduation, he started as a film editor, but in 2012, he got his big break—directing the hit TV series SashaTanya, a spin-off of the widely popular sitcom Univer.
Between 2012 and 2021, Mike directed over ten television projects. Among his most notable works are The Island, filmed in Thailand and the Seychelles, and Polyarny, shot in the Arctic Circle under the extreme conditions of Murmansk. These projects represent two extremes—bringing audiences from scorching tropical heat to the freezing north.
In 2019, Polyarny became the highest-rated TV show in Russia, and its second season was nominated for Best Comedy Series at the prestigious APKiT Awards in 2022. Additionally, in 2020, Mike’s action-comedy pilot Red-5 won the Jury’s Special Prize for «Best Energy» at the Pilot festival. Through his work on popular comedy and dramedy series, he realized that directing is not just about executing a script—it’s about adding depth, emotion, and details that make each scene feel alive.
Director Mike Starchak with a commemorative plate from «Polyarny 2»
In 2018, Mike discovered a passion for running. To date, he has completed five marathons in Russia, Ukraine, and Canada, along with numerous shorter races from 5K to half marathons. Running has taught him perseverance, endurance, and the importance of staying focused on the goal, no matter how challenging the journey.
In 2022, following Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Mike made the principled decision to leave the Russian film industry—and later, the country altogether. In 2023, he relocated to Vancouver, hoping to continue his directing career. However, he quickly realized that breaking into the North American industry was no easy feat. He took a job at the Save-On-Foods store —a humbling yet transformative experience that deepened his understanding of Canadian culture and provided fresh creative inspiration.
Today, Mike Starchak remains determined. He continues to seek new opportunities in the industry, believing in the power of humor, cinema, and, of course, running—because life, much like filmmaking, is a long-distance race. Fittingly, in 2024, he wrote a romantic comedy screenplay about a marathon, which he hopes to bring to life soon.
