In his latest short film, Abraham Adeyemi paints a soulful portrait of what it means to let go of someone you never really wanted to lose.

You ever had a romantic bond with someone, like real chemistry, soul-deep connection, but life got in the way? Maybe years passed. Maybe one or both of you moved on, married even. Then, one night, you link up again. You laugh like you used to, the spark is still there, and for a moment, you forget everything else. But deep down, you know this is it the final goodbye. And all you want is for the night not to end.

That’s the emotional terrain Abraham Adeyemi explores in his short film Chasing the Night, starring Deborah Ayorinde (Them, Riches) and Ṣọpẹ́ Dìrísù (Gangs of London, His House). Ayorinde plays Fatima, a brilliant and successful woman reconnecting with Leon, her former flame, played by Dìrísù. What unfolds over the course of one London night isn’t just nostalgia, it’s the ache of what might’ve been, tempered by the knowledge that sometimes love arrives too late.

“It’s not autobiographical,” Adeyemi told me. “But it’s emotionally honest.” He spoke about how most of us have found ourselves in that space at some point, where connection lingers but timing betrays it. After watching the film, it felt clear he wasn’t just interested in the dialogue, but in the weight of what goes unsaid. The film captures not just the nostalgia, but the quiet cues—the glances, the body language, the restraint. Two people reading each other completely, while trying not to get carried away.

That emotional curiosity, quiet, sharp, and sincere, drives Chasing the Night. This film is more than rekindling romance. It’s about accepting what love meant, and what it still means, even when the future no longer belongs to you both.

More Than a Love Story

Adeyemi is no stranger to nuance. His 2020 short No More Wings won the prestigious Tribeca Film Festival’s Best Narrative Short award and explored friendship, dreams, and gentrification over chicken wings in South London. But he wanted Chasing the Night to stretch him as a filmmaker.

“I needed to show more range,” he said. “More characters, more locations, both genders, just more… everything. I didn’t want anyone to question if I could handle longform work.” What emerged was a short film that plays like an emotionally rich bottle episode of a prestige drama—a story told in glances, silences, and what goes unsaid.

“I’m addicted to chasing the night,” he confessed with a laugh. “Whether it’s romantic or platonic, when I’m with people I care about, I never want it to end.”

The Power of Presence

The casting of Ayorinde and Dìrísù was key. Adeyemi didn’t write with actors in mind—until he did.

“While writing the first draft, Ṣọpẹ́ just came to me,” he recalled. “He’s who Leon needed to be. I sent him the script and he was in by the second draft.”

Finding Fatima took more time. “I was really specific about who she was,” Adeyemi said. “And Deborah… she was perfect.” He named the character after a close friend—someone whose ambition and brilliance had created an involuntary distance in their friendship group.

“I wanted her to know how much she means to me. That name wasn’t random. It was a love letter.”

It’s that personal touch that makes Chasing the Night so affecting. The film doesn’t traffic in melodrama or grand gestures. Instead, it lives in small moments—a walk through London’s late-night streets, a shared memory, the vulnerability of unfinished conversations.

When the Night Ends

Adeyemi’s direction is restrained but intentional. London feels like a third character—at once familiar and cinematic. There are no flashy backdrops or forced diversity optics. Just two people and the city that shaped them.

He credits heartbreak and rejection, not romance, with fueling this film. “I’d just gotten bad news about a job, and I was gutted. I watched Really Love on Netflix—well, ten minutes of it. That’s all it took for the idea to come to me. I paused the film and called my producer immediately.”

The original working title? The Long Goodbye. But that felt too familiar, especially after Riz Ahmed’s Oscar-winning short The Long Goodbye. Adeyemi’s producer had the solution: Chasing the Night. “She said, ‘I don’t know what the idea is, but that’s your title.’ She was right.”

Saying Goodbye With Grace

What makes Chasing the Night so affecting is how universal it feels. We’ve all had that one person—the what-if, the almost, the late-night conversation that lingered for days. Adeyemi doesn’t offer easy answers or romantic resolutions. Instead, he offers closure—not the kind that ties things up neatly, but the kind that allows you to carry love without needing to hold on.

As we wrapped our conversation, I asked him what he hoped audiences would take away.

“That it’s okay to want more time. But also okay to know it has to end.”That truth, bittersweet, grown, and deeply resonant, is what Chasing the Night captures so well. Some love stories don’t need a sequel. Just a proper goodbye.

Watch the short film below!