‘My Uncle Jens’ Review: Brwa Vahabpour’s Feature Debut is an Effective Telling of a Complicated Family, Assimilation and Immigration (B+) | SXSW

It goes without saying that family is complicated. We all have at least one family member who causes us the utmost stress yet we choose not to brush them aside because the blood ties are so potent that we maintain our instinct to be with them in their time of need. Both that blood connection and the simple words “I’m family” have such a stronghold that one can have a relative they haven’t seen in forever or somehow never met before enter their life out of nowhere and there’d be a need to let them in. Such is the case for the family drama My Uncle Jens, which makes its premiere at SXSW. 

One night, Akam (Peiman Azizpour), a literature teacher of Kurdish origin living in Norway, is woken up by a call at his door by a man named Khdr (Hamza Agoshi) who turns out to be his estranged uncle. Although Khdr’s sudden appearance causes Akam’s flatmates initial frustration, Khdr claims that his stay in the flat will be a short one only for his stay to not only be extended but cause both personal and potentially legal ramifications for his nephew even as his uncle’s visit causes him to be more in touch with his heritage.

Thanks to the complexities in the screenplay by writer/director Brwa Vahabpour, who makes his feature directorial debut, Khdr’s visit becomes as much a commentary on the immigrant experience as it does a meditation on dealing with complicated family members. Khdr choosing to be called “Jens” when interacting with Akam’s flatmates instead of his real name speaks to how immigrants from various nations feel forced to de-ethnicize their names as much as possible as a method of assimilation. When Akam goes on a stroll and visits a Kurdish restaurant that Khdr visits, he tries Kurdish cuisine that he admits to never having before becomes a way for him to be in tune with his roots. 

As the script tries to find a balance between humor and heft, it thrives more when it leans into its dramatic beats and depicts its central family visit as a way of continuing the conversation surrounding the anxieties immigrants everywhere feel as they try forging a better life for themselves. It is when Akam crosses paths with Elina (Sarah Francesca Brænne), an immigration officer, that he feels the same stakes that Khdr does. Once Elina becomes involved in Akam’s personal investigation into Khdr’s true intentions for visiting Norway, putting himself at risk, both he and Elina begin falling for each other. As much as things might not pan out for the two of them, there’s still a spark between both characters as their romance commences.

Peizam Azizpour is affecting as the conflicted Akam while Sarah Francesca Brænne is radiant as the kindly Elina who’s thrust into the middle of the central debacle. That being said, the acting MVP is the titular uncle himself, Hamza Agoshi. Agoshi is a force of charisma and potency as Khdr, nailing every dramatic and comical beat as he leaves the viewer as endeared and entangled to him as Akam is.

Hamza Agoshi’s performance helps tap into the painfully familiar notions of being simultaneously flustered and unwaveringly supportive of complicated family members in a film that’s as culturally specific as it is universal. Although topics addressed in the film such as forced assimilation have been depicted before, My Uncle Jens still brilliantly keeps the vital conversation on such issues going while shining a spotlight on an often underrepresented Middle Eastern culture. Both well-performed and humanistic, My Uncle Jens is a promising debut from Brwa Vahabpour. 

Grade: B+

This review is from the 2025 SXSW Film and Television Festival. My Uncle Jens is currently seeking U.S. distribution.

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Matt St. Clair

Matt is a New England-based freelance journalist who lives and breathes the world of cinema and has been an Oscar watcher since the age of eight. His writing can be found on outlets such as The Film Experience, Roger Ebert, Digital Spy, and Slashfilm. He is also a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic and a Gay & Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association member. You can follow him on Twitter @filmguy619. (He/They)

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