We’re thrilled to exclusively announce that Monument Releasing has acquired James N. Kienitz Wilkins’ The Misconceived, which premiered in the Harbour section at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and recently had its U.S. premiere as Opening Night of Museum of the Moving Image’s First Look 2026. Monument Releasing will launch a U.S. theatrical release beginning with a special 35mm run at Anthology Film Archives from May 8–14. Along with the acquisition details, we’re pleased to exclusively debut the first trailer and poster.
In a tragicomedy about millennials turning forty, The Misconceived (co-written by Robin Schavoir) continues the journey of Tyler from The Plagiarists (2019). The Misconceived is a 3D-rendered feature film about home renovation that doubles as an acidic and comic treatise on the working conditions of the contemporary creative class.
The film stars Jesse Wakeman (Donald Cried, Bruce!!!!), Jess Barbagallo, John Magary (Between the Temples), Callie Hernandez (La La Land, Alien: Covenant). The film is executive produced by Joey Frank (Manda Bala [Send a Bullet]) and produced by Emily Davis and James N. Kienitz Wilkins (The Republic).
Rory O’Connor said his IFFR review, “Seven years after collaborating on The Plagiarists, writers James N. Kienitz Wilkins and Robin Schavoir return with The Misconceived—another incisive, inventive movie about the anxieties faced by the never-quite-made-it creative class. Directed by Peter Parlow, that earlier film played with the tropes of found-footage horror to tell a story about untested urban liberalism and the dual tyrannies of artistic authenticity and writer’s block. The Misconceived—described in press notes as an acidic satire and more than lives up to that corrosive billing—is a little harsh on the eyes, but it swims in similarly rich thematic waters and doesn’t skimp on formal experimentations. “
James N. Kienitz Wilkins (director/co-writer) is a filmmaker, artist, and writer based in New York City. His work has screened widely with premieres at film festivals including TIFF, Berlinale, NYFF, Locarno, Rotterdam, CPH:DOX, ND/NF, Viennale, MoMA Doc Fortnight, and beyond. In 2017, he was included in the Whitney Biennial. Retrospectives of his work have been presented at RIDM (Montreal, 2017) and Metrograph Cinema (NYC, 2024). Features include Still Film (2023), The Plagiarists (2019), The Republic (2017), Common Carrier (2017), Public Hearing (2012). His writing has appeared in Filmmaker Magazine, Triple Canopy, the Brooklyn Rail, and MUBI Notebook.
See the exclusive trailer and poster premiere below.
