Charlie Mysak Sees the Future with Rakish

Artist-driven production boutique Rakish has added Charlie Mysak to its roster of talent. Having started his career in the docu-space across film and TV, an undercurrent of realism runs through Charlie’s work. Pairing pure human narrative with rich cinematography, Charlie creates highly visual, emotionally grounded stories steeped in substance.

“The intimacy at the heart of Charlie’s work is undeniable. He achieves it with such deftness it’s almost sleight of hand,” remarks Preston Garrett, Managing Director. “Charlie fits exactly right at Rakish because of that effortlessness. Our aim as a company is to work with directors who act and inform their art through instinct; that's what we're always striving for. That gut intuition radiates out of Charlie's work; nothing is ever forced, or painted by even one number. More of that, please.”

Indeed, Charlie feels right at home at Rakish, saying, “The underlying theme at Rakish is elevation. Preston and I are completely aligned on the type of work and stories I want to tell. They have a thoughtfully crafted plan in place on how to take my career to the next level, so I’m excited to start this journey together.”

 Charlie’s ability to find closeness between the subject and the viewer is showcased in his award-winning short documentary ‘Brooklynn,’ which received a Vimeo Staff Pick and Short of the Week honors. Most recently, Charlie’s 2021 short documentary, ‘Citizen,’ a collection of anecdotes from everyday people as they navigate a tumultuous year in America, played at the Oscar-Qualifying Palm Springs International Festival.

A graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Charlie excels at creating socially conscious projects, and developing ideas from the ground up. Although he has his documentary sensibility to lean on, Charlie is in many ways a chameleon for the story. Capable of honing the visual language for the brief at hand, Charlie has defined the style to tell impactful stories for clients including IBM, Under Armour, Square, FHB, Rocket Mortgage, Ally Bank, Johnson & Johnson, and more.

Most essential to Charlie is creating work where the characters feel real. The honesty that translates on-screen often leaves the viewer wondering whether it’s pulled from real-life or actors on camera. Such spot-on casting and ease working with talent resonates in his AdCouncil spot “Home” encouraging teen adoption, which was shortlisted for the 2020 AICP Awards.

In 2017, Charlie was selected for SHOOT’s New Directors Showcase and won Best Emerging Director Award at The One Club’s One Screen Festival. Setting off his momentum, Charlie’s spot for Adaptoys won a Silver Lion, was recognized as a 2017 I&C Disruptor and took home The Webby People's Voice Award.

As for where he wants to go next, Charlie’s long-term vision is clear: projects seeped in narrative, ideally ones where he is able to explore a mix of realism and levity, drama and comedy. And Charlie is just as intentional as Rakish in the way the company forges a clear, articulate vision and strategy for each director to attain the future they see for themselves. That intimate vision-forging is a primary reason Rakish remains such a tightly knit group.

“The work is paramount, but at Rakish the full package matters to us,” explains Preston Garrett. “Articulating a vision for the future, then also figuring out the steps to bring that outcome to life is a weighty challenge for anybody. Quite honestly, it’s super rare for a director to be so strategically minded to be able to do both. In a land of Zirconia, those are the diamonds…those are the people we want to work with.”