Playtime follows six characters: the Artist, the Hedge Fund Manager, the Auctioneer, the House Worker, the Art Dealer, and the Reporter, exploring how each is affected by capital and the global financial crisis. The film features performances from highly acclaimed actors, including James Franco, Maggie Cheung, Mercedes Cabral, , Colin Salmon and Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson, along with world-famous auctioneer Simon de Pury, who plays himself. Playtime is set across three cities defined by their role in relation to capital: London, a city transformed by the deregulation of the banks; Reykjavik, where the 2008 global financial crisis began; and Dubai, one of the Middle East’s burgeoning financial markets. Part documentary and part fiction, the work follows six main protagonists - the Artist, the Hedge Fund Manager, the Auctioneer, the House Worker, the Art Dealer, and the Reporter - interconnecting figures in the world of art and finance with the real stories of individuals deeply affected by the crisis and the global flow of capital.