Biography of Gabriele Salvatores

Born in Naples on 30 July 1950, Gabriele Salvatores moved while an adolescent to Milan, where he completed his education. In 1972 he became one of the founders of the Elf Theatre (Teatro dell’Elfo), which proposed new forms of show particularly popular with a young adult audience, based on a fusion of text and music. One of these works gave him the inspiration for his feature film debut a decade later: Sogno di una notte di mezza estate (1982) was praised by the critics and received a prize at the Venice Film Festival, although it was not a box-office hit.
Salvatores consequently had to wait another five years to get a second chance, which came with Kamikazen - Ultima notte a Milano (1987). The film features several excellent cabaret artists of the period, most notably Nanni Svampa.
However, box-office success only came with his third film, Marrakech express (1989) in which the director's themes - travel, friendship and a sense of solidarity amongst young people - are finally thrown into sharp relief.
His next film Turné (1990) is little more than a successful variation on the same gamut of emotions, but the following year with Mediterraneo - an adroitly directed film set on a small Greek island during the second world war - brought him international fame and even an Oscar for the best foreign film.
His next film Puerto Escondido (1992) is a mediocre adaptation of a splendid novel by Pino Cacucci, and Sud (1993) is a futile story of young rebels burdened by awkward ideological ambitions. Finally, Nirvana (1996) is a science-fiction virtual-reality feature patently inspired by Ridley Scott's classic Blade runner (1982). 
In 2000 he directed "Denti", which premiered at the Venice film festival and was widely proclaimed a success; now, two years later, "Amnèsia" once again deals with the central themes of his early films. Released in 2003, "Io non ho paura", is a successful film version of the fine novel by the young Roman writer Niccolò Ammaniti.

Biography of Gabriele Salvatores

Born in Naples on 30 July 1950, Gabriele Salvatores moved while an adolescent to Milan, where he completed his education. In 1972 he became one of the founders of the Elf Theatre (Teatro dell’Elfo), which proposed new forms of show particularly popular with a young adult audience, based on a fusion of text and music. One of these works gave him the inspiration for his feature film debut a decade later: Sogno di una notte di mezza estate (1982) was praised by the critics and received a prize at the Venice Film Festival, although it was not a box-office hit.
Salvatores consequently had to wait another five years to get a second chance, which came with Kamikazen - Ultima notte a Milano (1987). The film features several excellent cabaret artists of the period, most notably Nanni Svampa.
However, box-office success only came with his third film, Marrakech express (1989) in which the director's themes - travel, friendship and a sense of solidarity amongst young people - are finally thrown into sharp relief.
His next film Turné (1990) is little more than a successful variation on the same gamut of emotions, but the following year with Mediterraneo - an adroitly directed film set on a small Greek island during the second world war - brought him international fame and even an Oscar for the best foreign film.
His next film Puerto Escondido (1992) is a mediocre adaptation of a splendid novel by Pino Cacucci, and Sud (1993) is a futile story of young rebels burdened by awkward ideological ambitions. Finally, Nirvana (1996) is a science-fiction virtual-reality feature patently inspired by Ridley Scott's classic Blade runner (1982). 
In 2000 he directed "Denti", which premiered at the Venice film festival and was widely proclaimed a success; now, two years later, "Amnèsia" once again deals with the central themes of his early films. Released in 2003, "Io non ho paura", is a successful film version of the fine novel by the young Roman writer Niccolò Ammaniti.