Though born in New York City, Niko Volonakis immigrated to Athens, Greece when he was seven years old when his father, a Greek national, relocated his family there.

Since 2002, Niko has divided his time among New York, Greece and San Francisco, where he studied film at City College in San Francisco and embarked upon his indie film career, playing in a number of indie films and meeting another indie filmmaker, Egyptian Taher Medhat from Cairo. Medhat returned to Cairo in 2010 and kept in contact with Niko during the Egyptian uprising. Shortly thereafter, Greece had its own upheaval and it was at this time that they decided to film both rebellions and use them as the backdrop for the films, "Cairo Year Zero" and "Hate Your City."