Yannis Economides was born in 1967 in Limassol, Cyprus. In 1987 he moved to Athens to study filmmaking.

After several short films and documentaries, in 2003 he wrote and directed his first feature film, MATCHBOX. His second feature SOUL KICKING premiered in The International Critics' Week at Cannes Film Festival in 2006 and his third, KNIFER (2010) won seven awards from the Greek Film Academy, including Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay. His fourth feature, STRATOS, premiered in the Competition Programme of the 64th Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.