The Deposit

Self-interest is at stake, and the fine line between kindness and cruelty is explored in Ásthildur Kjartansdóttir's graceful debut. Gisella dreams about writing important things, genuine things, and quits her job at the newspaper after yet another article is insensitively edited. She contacts a recently started alternative paper, where she is given the proposition of writing an article about the living situation among immigrants. Through her research she meets Marisol, Abeba and her daughter Luna, who live in a barrack by the harbor. To help solve their financial troubles, she invites them to live in her large house that she inherited from her grandmother. At first everything works well, but soon the mutual respect between the three women turns into a power struggle and hospitality is replaced with rules and a system of punishments.