AN animated story created by two Newport students is being showcased at one of the world's premier film festivals.

Freelance animators Daniel Gray, 28, and Tom Brown, 21, are taking their three-minute animation, entitled T.O.M., to the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, USA, later this month.

Their film was selected by judges at the world-renowned festival after gaining plaudits at a number of British festivals.

They will now jet to the USA and have brunch with the festival's chairman, actor Robert Redford, before seeing their film screened six times during the festival's run.

Daniel Gray, from Caerleon, said: "It's fantastic news but it's all a bit surreal. We didn't expect it to do as well as it has."

The pair met while studying animation at the International Film School Wales (IFSW) at the University of Wales, Newport.

T.O.M., which took a year to complete, tells the story of a young boy on his journey to school who takes off and hides his clothes.

Daniel Gray, from Caerleon, said: "It's tragic and it's a comedy.

"We tried to create something with a good storyline and interesting design."

The film was traditionally made with each frame individually drawn, but animated on a computer.

After the pair won best film and script at the IFSW awards they showed the film at festivals in Bradford, Norwich and Bristol, which gained them an invitation to Sundance A spokesman for the University of Wales, Newport said the film school is "immensely proud" of their achievement.