Heightened Scrutiny

Amid the surge in anti-trans legislation that Chase Strangio battles in the courtroom, he must also fight against media bias, exposing how the narratives in the press influence public perception and the fight for transgender rights.

After his 2020 premiere of Disclosure, Sam Feder returns to the Sundance Film Festival with Heightened Scrutiny, another cornerstone contribution to contemporary trans cinema. Feder’s deep research and keen sociopolitical eye map a disturbing correlative relationship between media coverage of trans issues and material legislation impacting the lives of trans Americans with crystalline and alarming clarity. These macro forces are illuminated with intimacy and charisma in the story of Chase Strangio and his consequential career as an ACLU lawyer participating in historic trans litigation. His preparation for Supreme Court argumentation is as urgent as it is high stakes. In Heightened Scrutiny, both Feder and Strangio display signature intellectual rigor, critically contributive insight, and unshakable commitment to justice that solidifies them both as preeminent trans masculine voices of our time.—Ash Hoyle

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