Film

Preparation for the Next Life

2025 · 1h 56m · Drama · Romance

Love isn’t an escape, it’s a reason to keep going.

IMDb

5.9

Metacritic

80

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.

Sebiye Behtiyar

Aishe

Fred Hechinger

Skinner

Landyn Lu

Munro

Ella Rouwen Chen

Chen

B. Todd Johnston

Jim

Maxwell Almono

Luis

Justin Cotta

Cop (Times Square)

Alicher Adill

Aziz

Dralla Aierken

Arzu

Erden Uyghur

Young Aishe

Esther Chen

Min

Celine Cheung

Yi

Jessica Ma

Ma

Whitney Chi

Chi

Winnie Guo

Guo

Gabriel Furman

Officer Furman

• Bing LiuExecutive Producer · Director
• Martyna MajokScreenplay
• Adele RomanskiProducer
• Dede GardnerProducer
• Jeremy KleinerProducer
• Mark CeryakProducer
• Barry JenkinsProducer
• Sophia LinExecutive Producer
• Brad PittExecutive Producer
• Ante ChengDirector of Photography

Official Trailer

Release date

September 5, 2025

Status

Released

Original language

English

Runtime

1h 56m

Rated

R

Revenue

$43,421

Genres

Drama, Romance

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