Director
Sam Feder
Executive Producers
Laverne Cox, S. Mona Sinha, Ruth Ann & William Harnisch, Lisa Freeman, Sara Hinkle
Producers
Amy Scholder, Sam Feder, Paola Mendoza
Editor
Consulting Editor
Co-Editor
Assistant Editor
Cinematographer
Additional Cinematography
Music
Sound
Narration
Contact
An actively unfolding story of resistance follows an ACLU lawyer and a group of journalists and activists responding to anti-trans backlash in real-life communities and workplaces, while revealing mainstream media’s complicity in rolling back hard-won trans civil rights. The story’s central participant is Queens, NY-based ACLU attorney, father, and cat lover, Chase Strangio.
HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY follows the full arc of an epic legal battle, Chase must strategize and fight—a 2023 Tennessee state law banning gender-affirming medical care for transgender youth (LW. v. Skrmetti)—with a consequential decision expected in June 2025. The heat is on Chase, as the first out trans person to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. The outcome will determine the future of legal bodily autonomy for contraception, abortion, and reproductive healthcare.
Offering incisive, informed resistance to a spate of fierce backlash, HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY reveals mainstream media’s complicity in unleashing the American far right’s takeover of democracy and traces the fight against anti-trans legislation to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court.
Sam Feder (Director/Producer) 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.