MUMBAI: This year‘s Gucci Group Award has been bagged by journalist Mark Boal for his screenplay of Katheryn Bigelow‘s The Hurt Locker. The award was presented during the ongoing Venice Film Festival.

The Gucci Group Award, in its fourth year, recognises an artist who has made a "remarkable" contribution to a film during the past 18 months.

Boal was selected by a jury composed of actress Patricia Clarkson, director Zoe Cassavetes, photographer Mario Testino, editor Ingrid Sischy and Venice artistic director Marco Mueller.

The Hurt Locker is based on Boal‘s experiences when he was with the Explosive Ordnance Disposal unit in 2004. Other nominees for the Gucci award included Shirin Neshat with Women Without Men and Pipilotti Rist‘s Pepperminta, both of which are in screening in this year‘s festival and Yann Arthus - Bertrand‘s Home.

The Venice Film Festival that started on 2 September will on 12 September.