BEST SOUTH AUSTRALIAN SHORT FILM
SOUTH AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
M-8
Dante Julian Niedzwiedz | 2025 | 12m | Australia | Unley, South Australian
Ruby is an introverted teenager with a strong passion for robotics and inventions. She is ambitious and dreams of winning a scholarship to the most prestigious robotics academy in the country to pursue her dream of creating robots that can make a change in the world. The story starts with the creation of M-8. Ruby makes a huge step in achieving her goal by bringing this robot to life just in time for the annual robotics competition. Initially overjoyed with her creation, she is quickly brought down to Earth by the brash judging panel, who interrogate the usefulness of M-8. She casts M-8 aside, but M-8’s optimistic persistence in connecting with Ruby helps her see value in persevering and being vulnerable.
Credits
Director & Writer
Dante Julian Niedzwiedz
Producer
Dante Julian Niedzwiedz
Alice Reardon
Cast
Arwen Diamond
Interview with director Dante Julian Niedzwiedz
1. What was one of the most challenging moments you faced while making M-8? Did this ‘setback’ change the direction of the final story?
The most challenging moment I can recall is getting to the edit and realising that we had not adequately covered the final 'school hall' scene where Ruby returns with an improved M-8. That shooting day proved to be quite ambitious, given the amount of content we had to cover and it was quite a full-on day. We had scheduled the shoot based on our original script that was funded, but additional drafts had added more to shoot at this location. The schedule didn’t evolve to reflect that, so we packed in a lot on this day and as a result there were a couple of important angles / shots that we missed, which meant we had to coordinate a re-shoot. Given there were a lot of moving pieces involved for each shoot day, I didn't love the idea of this - however it all worked out for the best, and ultimately it didn't change the overall direction of the story.
2. What was the biggest inspiration behind M-8?
We were drawn to the technical & stylistic challenge of creating a POV film and thought it could result in some unique & subjective storytelling. In terms of the story inspiration, at the time of writing the film I was working in a primary school and felt strongly about a story about an isolated young person persisting through obstacles and failures to keep working for their passion, as well as learning to be a better friend in the process.
3. What message do you want the audience to take away from M-8?
Given this film was made for a younger audience, we wanted to impart the message of perseverance in the face of adversity and learning from mistakes. Additionally, a message of empathy; how seeing the point-of-view of the other person in a situation can lead to greater outcomes for both parties.
Reviews
Written by Jack McKenzie
Flinders University Bachelor of Creative Industries (Film and Television) Student
M-8, directed by Dante Julian Niedzwiedz, is a touching and beautifully crafted film that explores the bond between human and machine with both emotional depth and technical brilliance. Winner of Best SA, the film demonstrates a remarkable balance of heartfelt storytelling, thoughtful design, and confident direction.
At its core, M-8 is a story about connection and perseverance. Ruby, an introverted and ambitious teenage inventor, pours her heart into building M-8, a support robot she hopes will secure her a scholarship to a prestigious robotics academy. When her creation is dismissed by a harsh judging panel, her confidence falters, but through the gentle persistence of M-8, she learns that true value lies not in external validation but in compassion and resilience.
Arwen Diamond delivers an outstanding performance as Ruby, capturing both her quiet vulnerability and fierce determination. Her interactions with M-8 feel genuine, which is no small feat given the robotic co-star. Diamond’s emotional range grounds the film, making its moments of triumph and self-realisation moving.
The production design is exceptional. M-8 is brought to life with impressive realism and expressiveness, allowing audiences to empathise with the robot as if it were human. The use of M-8’s point of view adds another emotional layer, providing insight into its developing consciousness and creating a distinct visual cycle.
While M-8 follows a familiar underdog arc, Niedzwiedz’s sensitive direction and the film’s emotional sincerity elevate it beyond trope. Though the story could benefit from slightly more time spent on Ruby’s emotional transformation, making her rediscovery of purpose feel even more powerful, it’s still a testament to the power of storytelling when empathy and imagination collide. Overall, M-8 is a deeply affecting and technically impressive film, deserving of its Best SA win.
Written by Tom Venus
Flinders University Bachelor of Creative Arts (Screen) Student
Personally, M-8 was among my favourite films from this year’s selection. Appealing to all ages, I admired its clever use of a robot protagonist for innovative framing devices.
Much of the film is told through the perspective of the titular robot, as we directly follow M-8’s relationship with its creator, Ruby. This allows us a front-row seat to Ruby’s emotional arc, and her talent is obvious in that she has created a complex and sentient machine.
However, she deals with her doubts and lack of confidence in becoming a programmer. M-8 and Ruby face pressure from a panel of judges at a programming competition, as M-8’s emotions and human qualities interfere with its ability to perform as a robot in the way that the surrounding world would like.
This approach of seeing the world through M-8’s eyes allows for an interesting anthropomorphic examination of this robot character. While we initially meet our robot friend as a purely technological being, M-8 begins to have their own thoughts and feelings and faces a dilemma just as any human protagonist would. The first-person framing device works well to generate empathy for M-8 and to build them into a distinct character beyond their confines of metal and plastic.
The film also deserves credit for the robotics skill demonstrated in creating M-8 as a practical character. While M-8 could have been a static prop, with movie magic employed to convince us of the robot’s ability to move and perform tasks, it is obvious that it is an actual robot, which enhances the believability and production value of the film.
M-8 is a great example of how light-hearted subject matter and technical brilliance are not mutually exclusive. This is a film that is playful, innovative and heartfelt - in this way, it reminded me of some of the best Pixar films.