'Joker' wins top award at Venice Film Festival

ROME-Anadolu Agency

Joker by American director Todd Phillips won the Golden Lion award on Sept. 7 at the 76th Venice Film Festival.

The comic book movie starring Joaquin Phoenix portrays the transition of an artist into an iconic villain.

The world's oldest film festival also awarded Swedish director Roy Anderson with the Silver Lion for "About Endlessness", a human drama.

Polish director Roman Polanski earned the Grand Jury Prize for "An officer and a spy". He drew the ire of critics for winning the award while being convicted by a U.S. court for child sexual abuse.

A protest took place on the sidelines of the event with about 400 environmentalists holding banners saying "No to big ships in Venice".