Yannis Economides

Yannis Economides was born in Cyprus in 1967. He moved to Athens in 1987 to train as a lawyer but abandoned this path almost immediately to study filmmaking instead.

In 2003 – having completed an early series of documentaries and shorts – he wrote, directed, and produced his first feature film, the iconic "Matchbox". His second feature, "Soul Kicking", premiered as part of Critic’s Week at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. His third feature, "Knifer" – which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival in 2010 – went on to win seven Hellenic Film Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, and Best Screenwriter. His fourth feature, "Stratos", premiered in competition at the 64th Berlin International Film Festival in 2014.

In 2016, Economides wrote and directed his first stage play – "Sleep, Stella" – for the National Theater of Greece’s New Stage, to great artistic and commercial success.

His latest film, "Ballad for a pierced heart", premiered in 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic and was a Greek box office hit. The film garnered 15 Greek Film Academy Award nominations, including for Best Director and Best Film.

All five of his features won the Greek Film Critics Association Award for Best Greek Film of the Year on release in theaters, and have screened at numerous film festivals around the world.

Yannis Economides is currently in pre-production for his new feature film, titled "Rocks in the head".