“The point of relationships is to grow”: Bing Liu on Preparation for the Next Life

Preparation for the Next Life is the first narrative feature from Bing Liu, following acclaimed documentary Minding the Gap about his hometown of Illinois. Adapted from Atticus Lish’s award-winning 2014 novel, the film stars Sebiye Behtiyar as Aishe, a Uyghur migrant working in New York’s Chinatown’s underground kitchens, whose life on the margins becomes more complicated when she falls into a volatile relationship with Skinner, a young American soldier struggling to readjust after the war, played by Fred Hechinger. Set within the neighbourhood’s “no questions asked” shadow economy, the movie becomes a study of life in limbo, where fleeting moments of joy and connection exist alongside exploitation and risk.

In an in-depth chat with The Upcoming, Liu explained that his move into fiction came after revered director and producer Barry Jenkins encouraged him to read Lish’s novel and suggested he try his hand at fiction, as he “had an eye for it”. He was drawn to Aishe’s story, partly because it mirrored his own experience immigrating to the US with his mother, who also worked in Chinese restaurants and made difficult personal choices shaped by a need to survive.

In order to adapt the novel’s dense interiority, Liu stripped the story back and framed the film entirely around Aishe’s perspective, beginning and ending with her. He contrasts her learned invisibility, a survival tactic shaped by instability, discipline and faith, with Skinner’s visible unravelling, shaped by trauma and a lack of support after returning from war. Liu was adamant about avoiding sentimentality or familiar PTSD tropes, presenting their relationship as neither redemptive nor safe. He reflected on the incredible performances by his lead cast and the exhilaration of capturing the beauty and brutality of life in New York City. Ultimately, Liu says the film isn’t about romantic failure, but about recognising that relationships, even painful ones, can be meaningful if they allow you to grow and move forward.

 

Sarah Bradbury

Preparation for the Next Life is released nationwide on 12^th December 2025.

Watch the trailer for Preparation for the Next Life here: