Official Trailer for ‘Preparation for the Next Life’ Directed by Bing Liu
by Alex Billington
July 31, 2025
Source: YouTube
“If there’s something that you wanna do, you better do it today… You have no idea what’s gonna happen tomorrow.” Indeed – that’s the truth right there. Orion Pictures and Amazon MGM Studios has revealed an official trailer for a film titled Preparation for the Next Life, the first narrative feature film directed by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Bing Liu (best known for making Minding the Gap). Adapted from the same book. Sebiye Behtiyar stars as Aishe, a Uyghur woman trained by her military father, who migrates to New York City where she finds herself laboring in Chinatown’s underground kitchens. But one day 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. Co-starring Fred Hechinger as Skinner. They’re so adorable together in here. This is set for a release in theaters starting in September later this year – no festival premieres yet. I’m a fan of Bing Liu (and interviewed him) and this looks like it might be really good – a love story for the ages.
Here’s the official trailer (+ poster) for Bing Liu’s film Preparation for the Next Life, from YouTube:
“Love isn’t an escape, it’s a reason to keep going.” A Uyghur woman, trained by her military father, moves to NYC where she finds herself laboring in Chinatown’s underground kitchens. She fatefully encounters a young American soldier who just returned from three tours in the Middle East. Preparation for the Next Life is directed by acclaimed American filmmaker Bing Liu, director of the two doc films Minding the Gap and All These Sons previously, making his first narrative feature after a few other shorts. The screenplay is written by Martyna Majok; adapted from the book of the same name written by Atticus Lish. Produced by Mark Ceryak, Dede Gardner, Barry Jenkins, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski. This hasn’t premiered at any festivals or elsewhere, as far as we know. Amazon MGM Studios will release Bing Liu’s Preparation for the Next Life in select US theaters starting September 5th, 2025 coming soon. First impression? Interested?