Love isn’t an escape, it’s a reason to keep going.
Aishe, a Uyghur woman trained by her military father, migrates to New York City where she finds herself laboring in Chinatown’s underground kitchens. She fatefully encounters Skinner, a young American soldier who has just returned from three tours in the Middle East. While falling in love, they discover the possibility of a better life together than the ones they believed they were destined to live alone.
Preparation for the Next Life (2025) is a drama and romance film directed by Bing Liu, released on September 5, 2025 with a runtime of 1h 56m. It stars Sebiye Behtiyar, Fred Hechinger, Landyn Lu and Ella Rouwen Chen. Viewers rate it 5.9 out of 10 across 31 ratings.
Watch the official trailer for Preparation for the Next Life before you stream it.
Official trailers, teasers, clips and featurettes for Preparation for the Next Life.
Trailer
Clip
Clip
Clip
Featurette
Featurette
Sebiye Behtiyar
as Aishe
Fred Hechinger
as Skinner
Landyn Lu
as Munro
Ella Rouwen Chen
as Chen
B. Todd Johnston
as Jim
Maxwell Almono
as Luis
Justin Cotta
as Cop (Times Square)
Alicher Adill
as Aziz
Dralla Aierken
as Arzu
Erden Uyghur
as Young Aishe
Esther Chen
as Min
Celine Cheung
as Yi
Directed by Bing Liu, written by Atticus Lish and Martyna Majok, produced by Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski and Mark Ceryak.
Average viewer score of 5.9/10 from 31 ratings.
An essential element of any love story is chemistry between the lead characters, even if it takes an unconventional form. Regrettably, however, that’s exactly what’s missing in director Bing Liu’s debut narrative feature, based on the novel by Atticus Lish. Told in the form of a narrated letter/journal entry to her late film, the film chronicles the unlikely love story of Aishe (Sebiye Behtiyar), an ambitious,…
Reviewed on October 1, 2025
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Preparation for the Next Life (2025) is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, MGM+ Amazon Channel, Philo, MGM Plus Roku Premium Channel, MGM Plus and Amazon Prime Video with Ads, and to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home and Plex. Streaming availability is checked against JustWatch data and can change by region.
The main cast of Preparation for the Next Life (2025) includes Sebiye Behtiyar, Fred Hechinger, Landyn Lu, Ella Rouwen Chen and B. Todd Johnston. The film was directed by Bing Liu. You can see the full cast and crew list, with character names, further up this page.
Preparation for the Next Life was released on September 5, 2025 and runs for 1h 56m.
Preparation for the Next Life (2025) holds an average rating of 5.9 out of 10 from 31 viewer votes, and is a good pick if you enjoy drama and romance films. Read the viewer reviews on this page to decide for yourself.
Yes. The official Preparation for the Next Life trailer is embedded in the trailer section of this page and plays instantly, no download or sign-up required.
