Dark comedy starring Randall Park, Ming-Na Wen, Joel Kim Booster, Margaret Cho, Fivel Stewart, Valerie Loo and Jim Lau explores ambition, identity, and the high cost of the American Dream.
Jessica Liu has officially wrapped production on her debut feature film Better Life, a darkly comedic and culturally resonant sci-fi satire that has already generated significant industry buzz. The project marks a major milestone for Liu, who developed the film as part of the inaugural class of the Alliance of Women Directors’ Rising Director Fellowship, an intensive yearlong program, which began in 2024, that supports women and gender-expansive filmmakers making the leap to feature directing.
Better Life boasts a powerhouse ensemble cast including Randall Park (Fresh Off the Boat), Ming-Na Wen (S.H.I.E.L.D.), Joel Kim Booster (Fire Island), Margaret Cho (Fire Island), Anirudh Pisharody (Never Have I Ever), and Yao (Sinners), alongside Valerie Loo (American Horror Stories), Jim Lau (Horizon: An American Saga), Fivel Stewart (Atypical), Kelly McCormack (Sorry, Baby), Christine Ko (Rolling Loud), and Tim Chiou (The Company You Keep).
Based on Liu’s widely screened proof-of-concept short of the same name, Better Life follows a desperate immigrant father who turns to a cutting-edge medical procedure that turns slackers into high-functioning overachievers ,to help transform his chronically unemployed adult daughter and fulfill his American Dream. The film explores intergenerational expectations, the myth of self-improvement, and the brutal cost of ambition through a sharply comedic lens.
Liu honed the feature version of Better Life during her time in the inaugural Rising Director Fellowship, a program launched by the Alliance of Women Directors to accelerate the careers of women and gender-expansive directors. Through the fellowship, led by AWD Interim Executive Director Kylie Eaton and co-chair Lesley Powers, she was paired with Randall Park, who became an early champion of the project. Park ultimately came on board as an executive producer and appears in the film. The yearlong fellowship also provided Liu with mentorship, craft labs, industry screenings, and the opportunity to create a proof-of-concept short to support her debut feature.
“The directors in the Rising Director Fellowship, including Jessica Liu, come to the program at an inflection point in their career,” said Eaton. “As an organization, we are proud to offer them the exposure and guidance needed to become the next groundbreaking feature directors.”
The production, which was shot in Los Angeles under the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, was produced by Annie Huang (Handle with Care) and Samantha Gao (Smoking Tigers), with Gao also serving as line producer. Additional cast includes Sophia Xu (Beef), Rodney J. Hobbs (First Man), Mel Mehrabian (The Quest), Cassandra Blair (Jury Duty), Chris Cortez (Poker Face), Lacey Claire Rogers (Countdown), Homie Doroodian (The Sopranos), and Nick Rutherford (I Am the Prize).
Liu, who grew up between Shanghai and the Bay Area, has previously been recognized by Academy-qualifying festivals such as Cinequest and Dances With Films. Her past work is available on Prime Video and the Oscar-supported OTV platform. She is also a 2024 Satellite Collective Fellow, a 2023 Frieze LA Fellow with Endeavor Content, and an alum of Ghetto Film School.
With Better Life, Liu joins a new wave of rising AAPI filmmakers reshaping the industry with bold, genre-bending narratives that challenge cultural norms and center underrepresented voices.
We’ll be watching closely as this powerful debut makes its way into the world—stay tuned.
Photos by Andrea A Walter