Gabriele Salvatores (born 30 July 1950) is an Italian Academy Award -winning film director and screenwriter. Born in Naples , Salvatores debuted as a theater director in 1972, founding in Milan the Teatro dell'Elfo, for which he directed several avant-garde pieces until 1989. In that year, he directed his third feature film, Marrakech Express , which was followed in 1990 by Turné . Both films shared a group of actor-friends, including Diego Abatantuono and Fabrizio Bentivoglio , who will be present in many of his later movies. Turné was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. In 1991, Salvatores received international praise for Mediterraneo , which won an Academy Award as best foreign film. It also won three David di Donatello , the most important award for Italian cinema, and a Nastro d'Argento . I...read more