HEIGHTENED SCRUTINY on campus.
Free screening of the acclaimed documentary feature film and a Q&A with its award-winning director Sam Feder.

Wednesday, January 28, 2026
5 – 7 pm
At Portland State University, location available upon RSVP.

A reception with light refreshments will start at 4pm, hosted by PSU’s Queer Resource Center.

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. 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.

Sam Feder is a Peabody Award-nominated film director and writer. Feder’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 (2014). Feder was recently invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Documentary Branch.

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