Exclusive: Jessica Liu reveals cast for debut feature Better Life, a dark comedy blending satire with sci-fi
Writer-director Jessica Liu has assembled a top-line cast for her debut feature, Better Life. Leading the call sheet are Randall Park, Ming-Na Wen, Joel Kim Booster, Margaret Cho, Anirudh Pisharody, and the artist known as yao. The project builds on Liu’s proof-of-concept short of the same name, which shown at several Oscar-qualifying festivals, and aims to fuse dark satire with grounded science-fiction in an AAPI-centered story about ambition, family, and identity. The premise centers on a groundbreaking medical procedure that promises to turn slackers into overachievers, seen by an aging father as his last shot at the American Dream…through his unemployed adult daughter.
Liu conceived the feature from her own experiences with her immigrant father, and she developed it into a feature under the mentorship of Park, with connections made through the Alliance of Women Directors. Annie Huang will produce alongside Samantha Gao, who also serves as line producer. The project is notable for planning a shoot in Los Angeles under the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, with production kicking off in September.
The filmmaker’s background underscores the project’s resonance: Liu grew up straddling Shanghai and the Bay Area, and her work has gained recognition at Academy-qualifying festivals such as Cinequest, the San Francisco Independent Film Festival, and Dances with Films. Her prior rom-com Ming & the Banana earned a spot in Sundance’s Development Track, and her work has streamed on Amazon Prime and the Oscar-supported OTV platform. Liu has also been named to notable industry programs, including the Alliance of Women Directors’ 2024 Rising Director Fellowship, the 2024 Satellite Collective Fellowship, the 2023 Frieze LA Fellowship with Endeavor Content, and the Ghetto Film School. She is currently unaffiliated with an agency.
The cast is represented by major agencies: Park through Artists First and UTA; Wen through Innovative Artist and Link Entertainment; Booster through WME, Omnipop Talent Group, and Felker Toczek Suddleson; Cho through WME, with manager Sarah Martin and Fox Rothschild LLP; Pisharody through TalentWorks and ColorCreative; and yao through Stewart Talent, Luber Roklin, and Peikoff Mahan.
This development positions Liu at a intriguing crossroads of genre and identity storytelling, with a high-profile ensemble that signals strong festival and commercial potential. The combination of a sharp, satirical premise with a personal, immigrant-family lens could give Better Life notable traction as production advances in Los Angeles this fall, aligning with a current climate eager for inventive, identity-driven genre cinema.
Possible value-added notes:
– The project’s LA shoot under the tax credit program may influence budget planning and local industry impact, reflecting a regional trend toward in-state feature production.
– The ensemble includes widely recognized performers known for both genre and prestige projects, which could aid festival consideration and future distribution.
– Liu’s track record of festival recognition and streaming presence suggests a growing visibility for a feature debut that blends humor with social commentary.
In short, Better Life marks a significant step in Liu’s career, backed by a strong cast, experienced producers, and a premise that mixes humor, sci-fi speculation, and immigrant family dynamics in a contemporary American setting.