Love in a Puff

Love in a Puff, directed by Pang Ho-cheung, is set after Hong Kong's 2007 ban on indoor smoking, following office workers who gather during breaks in outdoor smoking areas nicknamed the Hot Pot Pack, where cosmetics sales rep Cherie and advertising executive Jimmy meet. Given a Category III rating in Hong Kong for its pervasive smoking content, the film premiered at the Hong Kong International Film Festival and opened on March 25, 2010. Pang Ho-cheung and Heiward Mak won Best Screenplay at the 30th Hong Kong Film Awards; lead actress Miriam Yeung received a Best Actress nomination but did not win. The story continued with a 2012 sequel, Love in the Buff, relocating the story to Beijing. Who it's for: anyone curious about a Hong Kong romantic comedy, winner of a screenplay award, about a romance that begins in the new social space created by a smoking ban. Who it's not for: anyone bothered by pervasive smoking as a theme, since the film unfolds almost entirely during smoking breaks.