Yannis Economides
Born in Limassol in 1967, Yannis Economides took the entire Greek cinema by storm with his first feature film, the iconic Matchbox (2002), which single-handedly expanded the scope of themes explored by Greek cinema. His second film, Soul Kicking (2006), confirmed that his cinema drips with the blood and sweat of the omnipresent but opaque class of the petit-bourgeois, painting a striking picture of a suffocating social environment that had been practically terra incognita for Greek filmmakers. His next four films, released with admirable consistency, established him as one of the most important filmmakers in the country and introduced him to foreign audiences. His successful transition to theatre with Sleep, Stella (2016) proved the versatility of his artistic idiom and his latest films Ballad of a Pierced Heart (2020) and Broken Vein (2025) have cemented his status as one of the most beloved and influential Greek filmmakers of the 21st century.
