Guwahati, Oct. 26: Arunachal Pradesh's first animation film based on a folk tale of the Tani tribe, is ready for premiere on Wednesday.

The animation film, Abotani, based on a folk character with the same name, will be screened at Rajiv Gandhi University in Itanagar on Wednesday.

The film has been made by London-based Adivasi Arts Trust in order to keep the story telling traditions alive and share them with the outside world in a film format.

Abotani is the cultural hero of the Tani community.

The story portrays a quarrel between Abotani and his brother Yapom which leads to division of their land. It also depicts what he had done to maintain his relation with Yapom, a spirit.

"We discussed the details of the origin of this myth with cultural elders of the Tani community before we began workshops in 2013 to prepare puppets of the characters and use them for animation. British artist Jonathan Marchant prepared the puppets based on designs that emerged during the workshop. The animation shots were recorded meticulously over two months by students from the National Institute of Design," secretary of the trust, Tara Douglas, told The Telegraph today.

Arunachal Pradesh governor J.P. Rajkhowa and some other prominent persons have been invited for the premiere of Abotani.

"We are planning its online release next month. The film has been made in Hindi as there are numerous communities in Arunachal Pradesh which interact in Hindi. It will also be dubbed into Tani languages and other local dialects so that children of different tribes understand it," she said.

Douglas, a graduate in animation from West Surrey College of Art and Design in the UK, has been working for preservation of tribal folktales in India through animation.

Abotani will be screened as part of their Tales of the Tribes - a series of five animated folktales from indigenous Indian communities in Madhya Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Sikkim.

The series will be of 30-minute duration and each film will be of five to six minutes.

Abotani had preview screenings at Nehru Centre in London and Chitrakatha Animation Festival at the National Institute of Design in Gujarat recently.

Douglas said they were planning a screening at schools in London too.