By Natalie Grice BBC News Online

Mythic tales from Wales' distant past and the problems facing contemporary youth are woven together to create the latest epic animated film from Wales' booming animation industry.

Y Mabinogi/Otherworld has its premiere at the Cardiff International Film Festival of Wales, which opens in the capital on Thursday, where it is one of three animated projects to make its debut.

The tales of the Mabinogi or Mabinogion, as they are commonly known, were first written in the Middle Ages, although it is likely that the stories within them date back much further.

The giant Bendigeidfran is voiced by Ioan Gruffudd

The film focuses on three of the characters within the tales, who start off as live-action characters in modern-day Wales.

They find a portal to the 'Otherworld' and are transformed into animated figures, becoming the characters recognisable to lovers of the classic Welsh tales.

Lleu (Matthew Rhys), Dan -short for Manawydan - (Daniel Evans) and Rhiannon (Jenny Livsey) each have problems which they take with them into the Otherworld, and which are resolved through their experiences there.

Stories

The film is the brainchild of animation company Cartwn Cymru producer Naomi Jones, who has wanted to make a film based on the tales of the Mabinogion ever since she started in the animation industry 20 years ago.

She told BBC News Online: "I grew up in the Ardudwy area of north Wales which features very heavily in the original text and I knew the stories as a child.

"I knew in some ways the story lent itself to animation."

It's taken me 15 years to get to the right place where I thought I could commission the right script

Naomi Jones, producer

However, she realised that the myriad tales within the Mabinogion would be too confusing and piecemeal to animate directly from the text.

She worked on ideas for the film, looking for a "narrative arc" which would make the piece a coherent whole.

"It's taken me 15 years to get to the right place where I thought I could commission the right script," she explained.

"We chose three main characters and we have drawn them out and introduced them as live-action contemporary teenagers.

"They have a problem and it needs resolving, and on May Eve, the traditional beginning of spring in Celtic tradition, they find a gateway to the Otherworld."

Once the trio have crossed over, the film tells the original tales from the Mabinogion, but their characters in the contemporary world are also changed by what is happening.

Jones said: "It sounds complicated, but it is a device to simplify the story and make it more accessible,"

Drawn animation

The producer believes there is a huge audience for whom the tales of the Mabinogion are relatively unknown.

"We know there are scholars who study them, and perhaps young children have been told them in school, but there is a gap generation if you like which doesn't know them," she said.

Some animation was done in Russia and Hungary

The �5.5m film was designed, storyboarded and laid out entirely in Wales, and about 30% of the animation work was carried out here.

The remaining drawing was done largely in Russia, with some work also carried out in Hungary.

The film is a 2-D drawn animation, although there are some elements of computer generated work within it.

It features a star-heavy Welsh cast, and has been recorded in English and Welsh.

As well as the three leads, well-known actors include Ioan Gruffudd voicing Bendigeidfran the giant, Notting Hill star Rhys Ifans in the Welsh version only and veteran Philip Madoc.

Music is provided by John Cale, formerly of Velvet Underground, who was born in south Wales.

Screenings

Once the festival is over, the film will be distributed in Welsh and the company is working on a distribution deal in English which should see it shown around the UK next year.

It is also scheduled for airing on the BBC and S4C, its backing company, in 2004.

Ultimately though, Jones is aiming to secure international screenings for her pet project.

"We hope to have some quite major international sales. There are lots of countries with a strong tradition of animation, such as Japan," she said.

For details of screenings in English and Welsh, follow the link below.