Maureen Lipman also starred in Solomon a Gaenor

The highly-acclaimed Welsh language film - the tragic love story of a chapel girl and a Jewish boy set in the Valleys of 1911 - was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy Awards last year.

But what was good enough for Hollywood, the Bafta Cymru jury did not feel was "strong enough" to receive their best film title.

Bafta Cymru chairman Emyr Daniel dismissed the judging panel shortly after it came to that conclusion.

Film-making in Wales is in its infancy at the moment and the jury felt it was better to withhold the prize

Catrin Lewis Defis, former Bafta Cymru judge

A new panel was set up by Mr Daniel and Solomon a Gaenor - directed by Paul Morrison - was promptly nominated as the Welsh Baftas Best Film.

But ahead of the award ceremony next week, former panel chairman and film producer Catrin Lewis Defis defended the decision to exclude it and said it had been made to uphold the competition's high standards.

"The jury decided there were lots of elements of the (two shortlisted) films that were excellent but they did not feel either was strong enough to receive the best film title," she said.

"They felt that they wanted to keep the standard.

"Film-making in Wales is in its infancy at the moment and the jury felt it was better to withhold the prize."

Ioan Gruffudd played a Jewish boy

The panel had voted 4-1 against giving the award to either of the films.

Ms Lewis Defis explained that Mr Daniel telephoned her to express his annoyance at the decision.

"I said it was a shame that we were only discussing two films as, because of the fast track system,(another film) House! had been left off the list," she said.

"So Emyr has gone on a crusade to right a wrong done to House! and he reconvened a different jury to add it to the competition."

Among the other contenders for the award was The Testimony of Taliesin Jones starring Jonathan Pryce, and bingo comedy House!, starring Jason Hughes, from This Life.

Emlyn Daniel has gone on a crusade to right a wrong

Catrin Lewis Defis, former Bafta Cymru judge

Bafta Cymru said that members of its management committee were unanimous in supporting the chairman's decision to reconvene a new jury to find a winner.

A statement read: "Some of the original programmes shown to the initial jury members were not eligible, and others, mistakenly weren't viewed.

"Therefore the original decision reached by the jury members, through no fault of their own, was false."

As a result, Lewis Defis resigned from the organisation ahead of the awards ceremony on 3 June.

Mr Daniel was not available for comment.