Kubilay Sarikaya, born in Berlin in 1974 as the son of a Turkish father and a Kurdish mother, grew up in the problem borough of Wedding (Berlin). In his youth, he got his first acting experiences as an ensemble member of the Tiyatrom Theater in Berlin, of which he was part from 1986 through 2000. At the same time, he was also working in a social hotspot area, leading projects related to prevention of addiction and violence.

From 2001 to 2006, Sarikaya was a care taker for mentally and physically disabled people, while occasionally appearing in films, such as in Idil Üner’s short film "Die Liebenden vom Hotel von Osman" (2011), Neco Çelik’s sprayer drama "Urban Guerillas" (2003) and Erhan Emre’s short comedy film "Jack und Bob" (2005). He was also the manager of the then still relatively unknown rapper Massiv and credits himself with getting Massiv a contract with Sony BMG.

In 2008, together with Sedat Kirtan, he created a short video clip about the Rütli school in Berlin, in which pupils share their view on the school that made national headlines in 2006 when teachers surrendered to a culture of violence and disrespect. Also together with Kirtan, Sarikaya co-founded the independent production company Lynarwood, named after Lynarer Street in Berlin-Spandau. In the same district, the duo shot their first medium-length film, the docudrama "Verzokkt" (2012), while Sarikaya also led theatre workshops, organized school plays and continued doing social work.

After developing the story for several years, in October 2015, Sarikaya and Kirtan started shooting their first fiction feature film, "Familiye", in which Sarikaya also played the lead part. The drama about three brothers in Berlin, who get caught in a whirlwind of crime and violence, premiered as the opening film of the Filmfest Oldenburg in autumn 2017 and went on to win the festival’s main prize, the German Independence Award. In May 2018, "Familiye" was released to German cinemas.