Award-winning actor Ashley Walters stars in a new short film that pays homage to the vibrant and often overlooked world that comes alive after sunset.
‘The Night Is Ours’ features a host of characters and their respective journeys or activities during after-dark hours – from shift workers and bar staff to parents comforting their child and people enjoying a night out.
Commissioned by Samsung to mark the launch of its new Galaxy S26 Ultra, the film is an emotive exploration of the diverse activity in Britain that takes place after dark and was shot on the Galaxy S26 Ultra to celebrate its enhanced Nightography video capabilities1.
An original poem, ‘The Night is Ours’, which is voiced by Ashley, underpins the narrative as it explores the idea that with the night comes both unexpected freedom and self-expression, ‘a space between one day / And the next’ where ‘the day loosens its grip’ and ‘cities breathe’, but also a humble working life as while ‘some rest’ as ‘others rise’ and for them ‘the night is too long’.
Paired with evocative visuals filmed on the S26 Ultra, ‘The Night is Ours” translates the poem’s sentiments by showcasing the night as a blank canvas where ‘truth slips out’ and connections deepen allowing viewers to ‘see night different’ and discover that “the night is ours”.
The film features a host of characters during their individual evenings, following a nurse leaving her son to go to work, a blossoming romance and one that has stood the test of time. We also see glimpses of a dad rocking his newborn, a taxi driver and maintenance worker starting their shifts under the cover night.
Ashley Walters said:
“I flew back from Budapest to work on this short film for Samsung, and it was an amazing shift. I’ve always felt most creative at night; something about those quiet hours helps you really focus and get the ideas flowing. But what blew me away was the incredible detail that the camera on the device could pull out of the shadows. The way it captures the world, even in low light, exactly as we see it is impressive to say the least.”
The film arrives as new research of 2,000 Brits reveals a significant cultural shift as millions of Brits increasingly embrace life after dark, staying up later, with more than three quarters of adults saying they use late-night hours to focus, plan ahead or work creatively.
The new study found 78% of Brits use late evening hours to concentrate without interruption, while 27% say they actually prefer nighttime to daytime, feeling more alert or energised after dark.
However, despite this shift, the UK still heads to bed relatively early overall, with a national average bedtime of 10:27pm, a figure that remains broadly similar across generations and regions.
However, younger Brits are far more likely to stay up late. Gen Z go to bed at 10:41pm on average but stay up after midnight three times a week, compared with the national average of two nights and just one night per week among Baby Boomers.
Sleep routines also vary widely between generations. 84% of Boomers say their bedtime is consistent, compared with just 45% of Gen Z, while 57% of Millennials report having irregular sleep schedules.
For many people, the evening has become a time to focus without distractions. Gen Z are particularly likely to use hours after 9pm for productivity, with 54% saying they use the time for creative work, tasks or life admin, compared with 34% of Millennials and just 7% of those aged 62+.
Location also plays a role. Londoners are the most productive at night, with 32% saying they regularly use hours after 9pm to focus, compared with 17% in Manchester and Newcastle and 22% in Birmingham.
Across the UK, some regional differences in bedtime habits also emerged. In Plymouth, 15% of residents say they always go to bed after 1am, compared with 2% in London and Edinburgh, and 7% in Liverpool.
For younger generations, staying up later is often intentional. 41% of Gen Z say they deliberately stay up later than others in their household to enjoy some ‘me time’, compared with 25% of Millennials and 14% of Gen X.
The research also found 44% of Brits feel most relaxed after 6pm, rising to 49% among Gen Z and 48% among Millennials. However, Gen Z (54%) and Millennials (59%) are also the ones who work or have worked the most during the night in comparison to Gen X (40%) and Boomers (39%
When it comes to staying up later for leisure, bedtimes are delayed to binge watch their favourite TV show for the millionth time (61%), or get in a bit of bedtime reading (38%) or to simply enjoy a scroll on social media (31%). Whilst 15% use the time to chat to someone in person or connect with family and friends through a late-night phone call (15%).
The research was commissioned by Samsung to mark the launch of Galaxy S26 Ultra, which features enhanced Nightography1 Video, designed to capture clearer and more vibrant video in low-light environments even when zoomed in.
On the Galaxy S26 Ultra, wider camera apertures2 allow more light to reach the sensor, delivering clearer photos with richer details in low-light conditions, even when zoomed in. Enhanced Nightography Video3 keeps footage clearer and more vibrant even in dim scenes, whether capturing concerts indoors or recording moments around a campfire after sunset.
