“As if in stern rebuke to the ‘just asking questions’ crowd, who reduce people’s real lives to intellectual exercises, HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY interweaves thought and feeling simultaneously.”
— Siddhant Adlakha,
Critic’s Pick. “What HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY reminded me is that the hope is inside of us, and that only through coalition building and helping others who need it the most will it truly be fulfilled.”
— Harrison Richlin,
“‘A reminder that we can resist’: hard-hitting documentary takes aim at anti-trans rhetoric.”
— Adrian Horton,
ABOUT THE FILM
LOGLINE
Fearless civil rights lawyer, Chase Strangio, battles at the Supreme Court for transgender adolescents’ access to life-saving healthcare, confronting not only the legal system but also a media landscape that distorts public perception and threatens the fight for trans rights.
LONG SYNOPSIS
HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY follows Chase Strangio, ACLU attorney and the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court, as he fights a high-stakes legal battle to overturn Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth (United States v. Skrmetti).
The film exposes the dangerous role of mainstream media in fueling anti-trans legislation, uncovering how biased coverage drives hate, endangers lives, and threatens democracy itself. With insights from journalists like Jelani Cobb, Lydia Polgreen, and Gina Chua, and activists like Laverne Cox, the story dismantles anti-trans disinformation and highlights its devastating real-world impact.
As SCOTUS prepares to rule on the case, Heightened Scrutiny reveals the fight for bodily autonomy as a fight for the soul of democracy, offering a powerful call to action against bigotry and injustice.
Director Sam Feder
Producers Amy Scholder, Sam Feder, Paola Mendoza
Executive Producers Laverne Cox, S. Mona Sinha, Ruth Ann & William Harnisch, Lisa Freeman, Sara Hinkle
Participants Julie Hollar, Morgan D. Givens, Ari Drennen, Jude Ellison S. Doyle, Kae Petrin, Sabrina Imbler, Alberto Cairo, Mina Brewer, Erin Reed, Lewis Raven Wallace, Tre’Vell Anderson
With appearances by Miss Peppermint, Elliot Page, Phillip Picardi
FESTIVALS
2025: Sundance (World Premiere)
AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World
EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download
PRESS KIT
Download Press Kit
AVAILABLE PRESS IMAGES (click to preview)
