Singer-turned-director Peng Lei, frontman for Beijing new-wavers New Pants, offers a poignant, stylized reflection of love and dating among the curious, ever-changing younger generation of China. Chun, a mysteriously quiet twenty-something, has been hopelessly dating (hopeless) men. Her romantic escapades include a dorky aspiring skateboarder, a self-loving poet and a man who tells her his greatest importance lies in sex. Needless to say, none of them work out. Meanwhile, the attractive, bold Taki has always loved women. After a string of rejections, she finds herself with a series of brief lovers; just like in Chun's case, however, none of them work out. Both women's unfulfilling exchanges with lovers and other strangers leave them wanting something more, even if they don't know what the more is. When their parallel love journeys come to a crossroads at a karaoke bar, will they discover it? Will their meeting finally bring something more?

While on tour with New Pants, Lei and his band members solicited concert-goers to be actresses in his film. In addition to innovative camera angles and deft editing, he cleverly utilizes the improvisational performances of these actresses to give THE PANDA CANDY a raw, pure feel. With this dramatic, revealing film Lei emerges as a simple and profound storyteller, offering viewers a unique exploration into the odd mixture of excitement and loneliness that dating brings.