

Preparation for the Next Life
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.
TMDB
5.9/10
31 votes
IMDb
5.9/10
1,320 votes
Rotten Tomatoes
97%
Tomatometer
Metacritic
80/100
Metascore
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- —
- Box office
- $43,421
- Language
- Mandarin
- new york city
- based on novel or book
- undocumented immigrant
- juvenile detention center
Top billed cast















Behind the camera
Where to watch
Availability for United States. Provided by JustWatch through the TMDB API.
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Awards & recognition
- Total nominations
- 2
- 2 nominations total
Awards data for Preparation for the Next Life provided by OMDb.
Release dates
United StatesUS
- Theatrical (limited)R5 Sept 2025
- Digital / OTTRMGM+19 Nov 2025
- Digital / OTTRPrime Video19 Jan 2026
United KingdomGB
- Theatrical1512 Dec 2025
BrazilBR
- Digital / OTT16Prime Video18 Jan 2026
FranceFR
- Digital / OTT12Prime Video19 Jan 2026
IrelandIE
- Digital / OTTPrime Video19 Jan 2026
IsraelIL
- Digital / OTTYes VOD18 Jan 2026
SpainES
- Theatrical1612 Dec 2025
Frequently asked questions
Preparation for the Next Life was released on 5 September 2025.
- B4/10
Brent Marchant
10/1/2025
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, sharp-…
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