PREMIERING AT THE 2025 SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL

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.

ABOUT THE FILM

SUNDANCE PREMIERE

HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY premieres at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival with five in-person screenings between January 27 and February 1, 2025. The film is also available for online, on-demand viewing between January 30 and February 2.

  • — WORLD PREMIERE —

    12:30pm MST | The Ray Theatre
    Park City, UT

  • 1:10pm MST | Redstone Cinemas 2
    Parky City, UT

  • 5:30 pm MST | Broadway Centre Cinemas 3
    Salt Lake City, UT

  • — Open Caption — 

    1:50pm MST | Redstone Cinemas 3
    Park City, UT

  • 4:00pm MST | Holiday Village Cinemas 2
    Park City, UT

Individual passes for both in-person and online screenings are available beginning January 16. Click here for more information.

FILMMAKERS

SAM FEDER

DIRECTOR / PRODUCER

Sam Feder is a Peabody Award-nominated film director and writer. Sam’s films explore the intersection of visibility and politics along the lines of race, class, and gender. Sam directed the award-winning Netflix Original documentary DISCLOSURE (2020) and the widely acclaimed documentary Kate Bornstein Is a Queer & Pleasant Danger. 

AMY SCHOLDER

PRODUCER

Amy Scholder has produced two highly acclaimed feature films. My Name Is Andrea, a hybrid documentary about feminist iconoclast Andrea Dworkin, directed by Pratibha Parmar, premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. Disclosure, a documentary about the history transgender representation in film and TV directed by Sam Feder, premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, and was released as a Netflix Original in June 2020.

PAOLA MENDOZA

PRODUCER

Paola Mendoza is a film director, activist, author, and artist. She is a co-founder of The Women’s March and served as its Artistic Director. She was a leading participant in the New York Times best-seller Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World (Dey Street Books, January 2018). As a film director, tackling complex issues like poverty and immigration and the impacts on women and children in the United States, her films have premiered at prestigious film festivals around the world.

Editor
Emelie Mahdavian

Assistant Editor
Nancy Nguyen

Director of Photography
Martin DiCicco

Director of Photography
Mariam Dwedar

Music
Jonathan Sanford

Executive Producers
Laverne Cox
S. Mona Sinha
Bill & Ruth Ann Harnisch
Lisa Freeman
Sara Hinkle

Contributing Producer 
Charlotte Cook
James Costa
Danielle Benedict
Jake Casey

Consulting Producer 
Gina Chua
Muna Mire
Alberto Cairo

Assistant Director
Laura Klein

Production Coordinator
Lauren Greenhall

Camera Operator
Emir Fils-Aime

First Assistant Camera
Madeline Rivera

Digital Imaging Technician
Madeline Rivera
Khadijah Wilson

Additional Camera
Derek Howard
Maksim Axelrod
Lauren Mendoza
J. Bennett
Chris Wairegi
Whitney Shefte

Chief Lighting Technician
Omar Nasr

Key Grip
Alex Blum 

G&E Swing
Agustina Biasutto

Production Sound
Wesley Grant 

Additional Sound
Amelia Palmer 
Jim Choi
Aisha Hallgren

Production Design
Violet Overn 

On-Set Dresser
Leda Seda

Art Assistant
Alexis Blake

Make Up Artist 
Judy Chung 
Robert Reyes 

Hair Stylist
Dee Tranny Bear 
M Alsondo 

Production Assistant
Griffin Garnett
Mariales Diaz
Claire Seaton

FEATURED IN THE FILM

  • Tre'Vell Anderson

    Journalist and Author

  • Mina Brewer

    Real Estate Agent

  • Alberto Cairo

    Knight Chair in Infographics & Data Visualization, University of Miami

  • Gina Chua

    Executive Editor, Semafor,
    Board Member, Trans Journalists Association

  • Jelani Cobb

    Dean, Columbia School of Journalism
    Staff Writer, The New Yorker

  • Laverne Cox

    Actress and Producer

  • Jude Ellison S. Doyle

    Journalist and Author

  • Ari Drennen

    Media Matters LGBTQ Program Director

  • Morgan D. Givens

    Audio Journalist

  • Julie Hollar

    Senior Analyst, FAIR

  • Sabrina Imbler

    Staff Writer, Defector
    New York Times Fellow 2022

  • Elliot Page

    Actor and Producer

  • Miss Peppermint

    TV Actress and Broadway Performer

  • Kae Petrin

    Data & Graphics Reporter, Civic News Company
    Co-Founder, Trans Journalists Association

  • Lydia Polgreen

    Opinion Columnist, New York Times

  • Erin Reed

    Journalist

  • Chase Strangio

    Attorney, American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

  • Evan Urquart

    Journalist and Founder, Assigned Media

  • Lewis Raven Wallace

    Journalist and Author

SELECT PRESS

Sundance Film Festival Unveils a Lineup Heavy on Politics

The New York Times, December 11, 2024

Documentarian Sam Feder was shooting in Washington as recently as last week for “Heightened Scrutiny,” about the American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Chase Strangio and his battle before the Supreme Court for transgender rights. READ MORE

Sundance 2025 Has a Top-Tier Lineup of Queer Projects

Out Magazine, December 11, 2024

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. READ MORE

The Sundance Team on 2025 Standouts

IndieWire, December 11, 2024

Sam Feder’s doc profiling ACLU Attorney Chase Strangio, who’s a trans man, is just being finished, but a key part of this film is what happened last week at the Supreme Court. READ MORE