top of page

Insert Coin to Play

2025
USA

Are we playing, or are we being played?

Insert Coin to Play
pexels-ian-panelo-7532049.jpg
pexels-karola-g-6634154.jpg

CREDITS

Created by

​—

Valkyrie Yao

Director & producer & editor:
Valkyrie yao

Cast:
Cherish Hayes
Isadora Escalera
John paul Alejandro
Kayleigh Berman
Maia Castelli
Samantha Frankel
Yawen Luo

Cinematography:
Chad Westover
Natalie Nguyen
Valkyrie Yao

Crew:
Natalie Nguyen
Emily Sangmeister
Angela Lee

In a world where reality bends between the virtual and the corporeal, Insert Coin to Play follows an unnamed protagonist as they navigates a system that requires participation to exist. Each action, each choice, seems predetermined—like a coin inserted into a machine, triggering an outcome dictated by unseen algorithms. Through a blend of choreography, visual installations, and cinematic storytelling, the protagonist encounters shifting power structures, manipulated information, and moments of surreal confrontation that challenge their perception of agency.

As the boundaries between victim and perpetrator, observer and participant, begin to dissolve, the film unravels the mechanisms of societal control—echoing critiques of governance, media influence, and the commodification of human attention. Inspired by philosophical inquiries into interdependence and performative identity, Insert Coin to Play blurs the lines between game and reality, leaving viewers to ponder: Are we playing, or are we being played?

SELECTED STILLS

Interested in presenting or learning more about

?

Insert Coin to Play

INQUIRE ABOUT THIS WORK

Get in touch for availability screening or collaboration.

DISCUSS PRESENTATION

Explore exhibitions, publications.

or presentations.

SHARE THIS WORK

Share this page with collaborators or colleagues.

-

Works from Shuborna Islam

2025

5:40

House

2025

-

Magnetic Glow

2026

5:32

ADRASTEIA

2025

2:56

Ꮟ ᎠᏂᏬᏂ They Are Still Talking

2022

19:21

Chalamela

2024

9:54

Echoes of the walls

2025

8:30

A Heavy Parting

2025

5:03

Flowing Boundaries

2025

-

Sculpture on Loan

2026

6:26

Nithyakalyani

2025

05:05

Amours perdues : la douleur

2025

8:19

When the Swan Sings (Part 2)

2026

3:00

Vieni (Come)

2019

-

Sculpture variation (original)

2026

5:42

Healing Shadows

2026

3:41

Nightmare

2025

8:43

When the Swan Sings (Part 1)

2026

2:55

Works by Tanya Shin

2025

-

Sculpture on Loan

2026

EXPLORE CATEGORIES

Composition
Film
Dance
Digital Art
Culture
Art
bottom of page