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.