Frameline To Host California Premiere Of ‘Heightened Scrutiny’ As Trump Administration Sharpens Assault On Trans Rights

President Trump’s first 100 days in office have been marked by a concerted effort to stigmatize trans people and deny them rights. A week after re-entering the White House he issued an executive order banning transgendered people from enlisting or serving in the U.S. military (last month, a federal judge blocked that order, declaring it “soaked in animus”).

In January, Trump also signed an executive order “directing federal agencies to withhold funds from medical providers and institutions that provide gender-affirming medical treatments for people under 19,” according to the ACLU, which is suing to overturn that directive. On his very first day back in the Oval, Trump signed an executive order that has prompted the State Department to stop issuing passports with accurate sex designations for transgender, nonbinary, and intersex people. The ACLU is suing to overturn that directive as well.

For these reasons and more, the new documentary Heightened Scrutiny arrives at a critical moment. Today, Frameline – the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival – announced it will host the California premiere of Sam Feder’s film at the 49^th edition of the festival. The documentary, which centers on ACLU civil rights lawyer Chase Strangio’s legal battle against anti-trans laws, features appearances from Oscar-nominated actor and activist Elliot Page; drag queen, artist, and activist Miss Peppermint; journalist and editor Phillip Picardi; and Emmy winner and activist Laverne Cox (who also serves as executive producer). “Heightened Scrutiny also explores how uninformed media narratives impact the public’s understanding of trans rights,” according to a release.

The premiere will take place June 20, the first Friday of Frameline49. The festival runs June 18-28, a highlight of Pride Month.

“I first went to Frameline in the early 2000s and was immediately inspired to be a filmmaker. With this catalyst, I made my first feature in 2006, and since then my films have been indebted to the bold, sometimes risky, choices and craft that I witnessed at the festival,” Feder said in a statement. “Our goal is to use Heightened Scrutiny in solidarity with, and for coalition building among, all movements of oppressed peoples. Our team is so grateful for Frameline’s support at a time when LGBTQ+ rights are so viciously under attack.”

Frameline49 announced a unique Pay-It-Forward initiative in conjunction with the premiere of Heightened Scrutiny. “Members of the queer community and allies will be able to purchase tickets on behalf of others, ensuring that no trans or nonbinary attendees will have to pay to watch the film or be in community.”

“We’re asking our audience and allies to show up and take real, tangible action,” commented Allegra Madsen, Frameline’s executive director. “Paired with the First Friday Party, Heightened Scrutiny really captures the spirit of Frameline49 by centering on both queer resilience and joy. With resources and support for LGBTQ+ people drying up, queer people have to show up for each other and, in particular, trans folks. When I think of using the past as a roadmap for navigating the challenges ahead, it’s clear that community care, in all its forms, is the answer.”

Last year, Strangio – the heart of the documentary – became the first openly trans person to argue a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. That case — United States v. Skrmetti – centers on the state of Tennessee’s ban on transgender medical care for people under the age of 18, including puberty blockers and hormone therapy. Strangio, a staff attorney for the ACLU, argued the law violates the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment. A decision from the conservative-dominated court could be handed down in June.

“The 14th Amendment is one of the Reconstruction amendments,” Strangio told Deadline at the Sundance Film Festival, where Heightened Scrutiny held its world premiere. “We have the 13th, 14th and 15th amendments that come to the Constitution after the end, the formal end, or the supposed end to chattel slavery. And the purpose of these amendments is to bestow rights on everyone. And you can see increasingly how there are incursions into that. The overturning of Roe v. Wade; we can see within the 24 hours of coming into office, President Trump decides that he’s going to end birthright citizenship. That is a bedrock in the text of the 14th Amendment. And this, too, is a question about whether or not equal protection of the law is going to mean equal protection for everyone.”

Strangio added, “If the court says that states can attack trans people, take away our healthcare with really no justification at all, then that is going to come for everyone — the right to contraception, the right to marriage equality.”

The documentary – a recipient of Frameline’s 2025 Completion Fund Grant — will screen at the American Conservatory Theater’s (ACT) Toni Rembe Theater on June 20. The screening will be followed by Frameline49’s First Friday Party at Charmaine’s (the Proper Hotel’s rooftop bar on Market Street).

“This is an up-to-the-minute documentary that’s unfolding in real time,” Madsen, Frameline’s ED, added. “Regardless of the outcome of this case, it’s important that we have space to be in community with one another — to show that no matter what queer joy is an unstoppable force.”

Additional information on Frameline49’s screening of Sam Feder’s film:

Heightened Scrutiny

DIR Sam Feder 2025 USA 89 min

A salient document of our current moment, Disclosure director Sam Feder’s Sundance standoutcenters on ACLU attorney Chase Strangio, the first out trans person to argue before the Supreme Court. While Strangio fights a high-stakes legal battle to overturn Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth (United States v. Skrmetti), he and other leading activists, like Laverne Cox and Elliot Page, examine how media bias influences the public’s perception of trans rights.

Pay-It-Forward + Ticketing Info

An actively unfolding case, United States v. Skrmetti’s decision will likely be announced during Frameline49. As a community, we are bearing witness. No matter the results, we need to be in a room together. Feder’s timely documentary not only provides an opportunity to gather in the same space, it also gives us a moment to show up for each other. When you buy a ticket to the screening of Heightened Scrutiny and/or the First Friday Party, you can participate in our Pay-It-Forward initiative by purchasing tickets for others. Our goal is that no trans or nonbinary person will pay to see the film and be in community. Note: Trans or nonbinary attendees must still reserve a space to see the film by selecting the complimentary ticket option and completing the standard checkout process.