Washington, September 8 (ANI): Indian director Murali Nair has been honoured with the City of Venice Award, given to a director from "an underdeveloped country", for his film Unni at the Venice Film Festival.

The film is about a high-caste Indian boy who befriends two boys of lower castes.

American director Wes Anderson's film Darjeeling Limited, a comedy about a trio of brothers on a trip across India, bagged the Golden Lion Cub, an award selected by school children.

A jury of local youths studying at the Agiscuola, near Venice's Lido, awarded the film, reports Hollywood Reporter.

Ed Radtke's coming-of-age drama The Speed of Life, about a group of New York youths who steal video cameras and make films from the tapes inside, took home the festival's first Queer Lion award.

The film was screened in the Venice Days sidebar for up-and-coming directors, and was judged to have featured the most accurate portrayal of a gay character out of the 57 new feature films screening in Venice.

The Venice Gays jury prize, which awarded the prize to Radke's film, urged to the festival's organisers to include more films that portray gay characters in a truthful way in future editions.

Redacted, the Iraq War film from Brian DePalma, was chosen for the Digital Award from the Future Film Festival, as the Venice event's best film made using digital technologies.

The main prize-winners are to be announced on Saturday. (ANI)