Jacques Derrida’s concept of “hostipitality” has come to replace the unconditional and unrestricted hospitality defined by Immanuel Kant and instead describes a form of engagement with the Other characterized by both hospitality and hostility. Derrida’s neologism invites us to attend to the interconnections of these two affectbased responses to the Other. Contemporary European film exemplifies this in depictions of “host“ countries’ treatment of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. This essay 1) explores the salience of Derrida’s concept; 2) discusses the depiction of hostipitality in contemporary European film; and 3) shows with the help of Austrian director Paul Meschuh’s Boat People (2016) how film can translate hostipitality into an ambivalent aesthetic experience of the tension between a person’s willingness to act hospitably and prevalent hostile immigration regimes.