Graduation Films Programme 2 of the ReA Festival 2026. Competition programme, judged by the festival jury. HER MOVE by Yaqi Cui (Australia · 4:30 min) In a surreal chessboard world ruled by a giant hand, a female pawn flees the force controlling her every move. Guided by other women trapped within the game, she finds the courage to break free from her stone shell—and shatter the board that has defined her future. The Mask 夜哭刺 by Christina Fu, Mingwei Ma, Mengyao Zhao (Singapore · 4:28 min) The Mask is an animated short set in a monster-inhabited faraway land in ancient China. The story is about a boy, Ji, who hides behind a mask, desperately trying to win over his audience. When his first performance flops, he has to confront a profound truth that might change everything. Inspired by one of the short stories in Strange Tales from Chinese Studio | 聊斋志异, the film combines hand-drawn animation and Chinese ink aesthetic to explore the theme of personal identity. It tells a fish-out-of-water story and a Journey towards truth - acceptance comes from within and not from a mask. Gaia by Gwenola Heck (Germany · 4:00 min) Gaïa is a living planet whose body is inhabited by humans. As its resources begin to diminish, her inhabitants attempt to fertilize her egg to create another planet - a new habitat. But Gaïa intervenes and prevents their attempt at fertilization. City in the Fox by Mikael Lindskov Jacobsen (Germany · 8:53 min) A curious fox discovers a children’s book about planet Earth and becomes fascinated by the human world of knowledge. But as it devours more books and its imagination expands, the fox finds itself overwhelmed by thoughts it cannot fully understand. Anxietyborns by Katarzyna Filipina Lenarczyk (Poland · 10:40 min) A story about a mother and daughter who must confront their fear of change. The daughter decides to leave the family home, but the mother refuses to accept it. As events unfold, the protagonists are forced to face their decisions. It is a symbolic story about the relationship between mother and daughter, empty nest syndrome and an uncertain future. The Moon Stole My Stripes by Sarah Buckley (United States · 6:18 min) A film about a tiger getting her stripes back after they've been stolen by the rabbit on the moon. Land of No Man by Muling Tzai, Olivia Lin (Taiwan, United States · 3:51 min) A loner capybara is questioned by passer-by animals: aren't you lonely? The First Day by Hossein Moein (Iran · 10:05 min) An anxious young boy finds himself wandering through a twisted, fantastical world on his first day of school. Stone Growth by Jokūbas Rimkus (Germany · 7:22 min) In a world of ever-growing stones a boy lives with his grandmother in a garden house. When he notices that the stones will destroy their home he tries to stop them - but all his efforts fail. In the end, despite the destruction, they find a way to build something new together. Eye Jam by Julia Jolliffe (United Kingdom · 2:56 min) A lonely creature’s desperate struggle for connection in a desolate world, no matter the cost.