Supreme Court decision looms over 49th Frameline LGBTQ+ film festival
As Frameline's 49th film festival nears, LGBTQ+ rights are under assault from federal and state governments, and drastic cuts in funding are affecting all arts and LGBTQ+ organizations.
It's a scary time, but the San Francisco International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, the world's largest and longest-running film festival of its kind, is defiant.
'We need to really lay the groundwork out there,' Frameline Executive Director Allegra Madsen told the Chronicle ahead of the festival, which runs Wednesday, June 18, through June 28. 'We need to stand up for one another inside the community and also we need to look outside the community for effective allyship, one that is actually rooted in supporting the queer community.'
Madsen and her team have programmed a proactive slate of issue-oriented films for the event that sends a clear message: The queer community isn't going anywhere. No film embodies that spirit more than ' Heightened Scrutiny,' Sam Feder's ripped-from-the-headlines documentary about American Civil Liberties Union attorney Chase Strangio, the first out transgender person to argue before the Supreme Court.
A recipient of Frameline's 2025 Completion Fund grant, the film is scheduled to make its California premiere in the festival's traditional 'First Friday' slot on June 20, with a screening at American Conservatory Theater's 1,000-seat Toni Rembe Theater, followed by a party at Charmaine's, the Proper Hotel's rooftop bar on Market Street.
Produced by former San Francisco resident Amy Scholder, 'Heightened Scrutiny' follows Strangio during his involvement in United States v. Skrmetti, in which he is fighting to overturn Tennessee's ban on gender-affirming care for transgender youth. Strangio argued the case before the Supreme Court on Dec. 4, and audio of the arguments (SCOTUS does not allow cameras) is used in the film, which made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
To add to the drama, the high court's decision is expected to be handed down during Frameline.
'We felt this urgency to get the film out while the decision was being deliberated so that the public could really understand what the stakes are and hopefully understand the kind of urgency of coalition and, regardless of the outcome, just what this will mean,' Scholder said. 'Nine human beings at the Supreme Court are deciding the fate of the civil rights of a community and the beginning of, or the continuation of, the chipping away of bodily autonomy for all Americans. Whatever the decision is, we set out to show how we got here, what contributed to this moment.'
Feder, who spoke to the Chronicle along with Scholder during a video interview, first met Strangio while making his documentary ' Disclosure: Trans Lives on Screen ' (2020), about Hollywood's depiction of transgender people.
'The ways in which he spoke about the connection to the rise of visibility and the rise of social and legislative violence really struck me because that was the reason I made that film,' Feder said. 'I wanted people to start preparing for the inevitable backlash.'
That backlash has arrived, and with intensity. Not just from the government, but, as 'Heightened Scrutiny' alleges, the mainstream press. Strangio explains in the documentary how headlines about trans issues — both in the New York Times and in other newspapers — subtly changed over a relatively short time leading up to the case.
At issue in the Supreme Court case and in media coverage is the use of hormone and puberty blockers, which have been prescribed to children since the 1980s for various conditions that have nothing to do with gender changes, such as early onset puberty.
'This is a framing issue,' Feder said. 'This is not about unfairness or a threat. If you want to make things fair based on blood tests and hormone tests, you should be doing that across the board, right? Not just for this one class of people. So this is about bigotry. So how we frame these stories creates a very specific narrative that people run with, and that's what I wish the press would do better.'
Frameline felt 'Heightened Scrutiny' was so important that it introduced a pay-it-forward initiative to provide free tickets to transgender and nonbinary attendees (details at www.frameline.org).
The screening, which Feder and Scholder plan to attend, will be preceded by a performance by the New Voices Bay Area TIGQ (Transgender, Intersex, Genderqueer) Choir.
'The outcome of this case is going to affect all Americans,' Feder said. 'People think this is just about a small community that they don't really care about, and they want to talk about other things. But we're seeing the beginnings of coalition building about reproductive rights and trans rights and immigrant rights. This is all about bodily autonomy, what we have the right to do, what our right is to move through space.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
‘Your client does not own this concept': Bay Area filmmaker fires back at plagiarism accusations
With the high-stakes release of the horror film 'Together' looming, lawyers representing Bay Area filmmaker and actor Dave Franco and his wife and co-star Alison Brie are hitting back against a copyright infringement lawsuit over their buzzy Sundance Film Festival favorite. According to a letter sent to lawyers representing the production company of 'Better Half,' a 2023 film written and directed by Patrick Henry Phelan, attorney Nicolas Jampol asserts that 'Together,' written and directed by Michael Shanks and starring Brie and Franco, is 'not remotely similar.' Both films are about a couple who hook up then become fused together, though 'Better Half' is a romantic comedy, and 'Together,' due for release on July 30, is a body horror film. 'Your client does not own this concept,' Jampol wrote in the May 21 letter, which was obtained by Variety. 'Neither do our clients. It is an unprotectable idea, one that predates all of our clients and has been explored in many films, television shows and other fictional works.' The suit, filed May 13 in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, called 'Together' a 'blatant rip-off' of 'Better Half,' complete with a Spice Girls reference and a 'near verbatim' reference to Plato's 'Symposium.' In addition, the plaintiff, StudioFest, alleges that the casting director of 'Better Half' sent the script to Franco and Brie's agents at WME in August 2020 with an offer to star, but were turned down. But in the letter, Jampol noted that Shanks registered a completed draft with the Writers Guild of America in 2019. He also wrote that the reference to the Spice Girls song '2 Become 1' was not surprising, and that the coincidence is unprotectable. In a response to Jampol's letter on Monday, June 9, plaintiffs' attorney Daniel Miller, said that defense 'borders on the ridiculous.' Aside from Franco and Brie, who is also a producer on the project, defendants listed in the suit include Shanks, William Morris Endeavor Entertainment — which represents Franco and Brie — and Neon, the distributor which acquired 'Together' for $17 million out of Sundance. Franco, 39, is the brother of actor James Franco and is an alum of Palo Alto High School. He married Brie, 42, in 2017, and they have co-starred in four movies.
San Francisco Chronicle
2 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
Dave Franco and Alison Brie's ‘Together' director calls identity theft lawsuit ‘deeply upsetting'
The director of 'Together,' a new horror film by Bay Area filmmaker Dave Franco and his wife Alison Brie, has spoken up about the copyright infringement lawsuit that it has been embroiled in. 'It's not just a script; it's a reflection of something deeply personal,' the film's director, Michael Shanks, said in a statement released Wednesday, June 18. 'I lost my father at a young age in the same way our main character does, his trauma is rooted in my own. To have this called into question is not only deeply upsetting but entirely untrue.' The lawsuit, filed by production company StudioFest on May 13, claims that the Sundance Film Festival horror is a 'blatant rip-off' of Patrick Henry Phelan's 2023 independent romantic comedy 'Better Half.' Both films center on the concept of a couple being physically fused together, and the suit alleges that several other elements, including a 'near verbatim' reference to Plato's 'Symposium,' were copied. The suit lays out a timeline asserting that Brie and Franco were pitched on 'Better Half' in 2020, and that their agent at William Morris Endeavor Entertainment turned it down. However, Shanks claimed in his statement that he completed the film's first draft in 2019, subsequently registering it to the Writer's Guild of America later that year. After receiving development funding in 2020, he was introduced to Franco in 2022 and pitched the film to him. Shanks described being accused of idea theft as devastating. 'The suggestion not only undermines the work but also attempts to erase the emotional and professional journey I've taken to bring it to life,' he said. Last month, the defendants' attorney Nicolas Jampol asserted the films are 'not remotely similar' in a letter sent to StudioFest, which is behind 'Better Half.' 'Your client does not own this concept,' Jampol wrote in the May 21 letter, which was obtained by Variety. 'Neither do our clients. It is an unprotectable idea, one that predates all of our clients and has been explored in many films, television shows and other fictional works.' Franco, a Palo Alto High School alum and brother of actor James Franco, and Brie are both producers on the project and are among the defendants listed in the suit. Others include Shanks, WME and Neon, the distributor that acquired the film for $17 million. A joint statement from Neon and WME notes that 'the plaintiff is doing nothing more than drumming up 15 minutes of fame for a failed project.' 'Together' is due out July 30.
Newsweek
6 hours ago
- Newsweek
Prince Harry and Meghan's Biggest U.S. Scandals
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were frequent targets of the British press as working royals, but it was only after several years in the United States that they began to face controversy across the pond as well. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have experienced successes since moving to California, but have also faced their fair share of crises. Meghan's mock curtsy, Harry's frostbite, and allegations of staff mistreatment have been just some of the moments fans of the couple might prefer to forget. Meghan's Curtsy to Queen Elizabeth II The duchess used the couple's December 2022 Netflix show, Harry & Meghan, to describe her first-ever curtsy to Queen Elizabeth, but it provoked a backlash for allegedly disrespecting British culture. Meghan re-created the curtsy she said she performed, bowing at the waist and spreading her arms wide in either direction. "I mean, Americans would understand this," she said. "We have Medieval Times Dinner & was like that." She had previously described the meeting to Oprah Winfrey in 2021 without mentioning any issues with her curtsy, and Harry went on to say it was "flawless" in his memoir, Spare. Many came away feeling the mock curtsy had disrespected a long-standing British tradition, and the fact that the queen had died three months earlier no doubt did not help. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada, on February 9, 2025. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend the Invictus Games in Vancouver, Canada, on February 9, 2025. Samir Hussein/WireImage Prince Harry Mocked Over Frostbite Harry's book, Spare, was released a month later and led to ridicule after he described in detail applying his mother's favorite Elizabeth Arden lip cream to his frost-bitten private parts. "My penis was oscillating between extremely sensitive and borderline traumatized," he wrote. "The last place I wanted to be was Frostnipistan. "I'd been trying some home remedies, including one recommended by a friend. She'd urged me to apply Elizabeth Arden cream. My mum used that on her lips. 'You want me to put that on my todger?' "'It works, Harry. Trust me.' I found a tube, and the minute I opened it, the smell transported me through time. I felt as if my mother was right there in the room. "Then I took a smidge and applied there. 'Weird' doesn't really do the feeling justice." Suffice it to say, the passage attracted the attention of quite a few late-night U.S. comedy shows. 'F****** Grifters' and the Collapse of Spotify Just months later, the Sussexes' Spotify deal collapsed, and just as their team was reassuring journalists the two had parted ways by mutual consent, up popped an executive at the streaming giant to derail the PR strategy. Bill Simmons used his own podcast to fire a parting shot at the couple: "I wish I had been involved in the Meghan and Harry leave Spotify negotiation. 'The F****** Grifters,' that's the podcast we should have launched with them. "I gotta get drunk one night and tell the story of the Zoom I had with Harry, trying to help him with a podcast idea. It's one of my best stories." Meghan a 'Dictator in High Heels' Meghan had long been fending off allegations that she bullied staff at Kensington Palace as a working royal. The scandal migrated to America in September 2024 with an article from The Hollywood Reporter headlined: "Why Hollywood Keeps Quitting on Harry and Meghan." The article quoted a source who said the couple's U.S. staff were terrified of Meghan and that the royal belittled people. Another source said Meghan marched around "like a dictator in high heels," and has reduced grown men to tears. Meghan's team launched a PR counterattack in the pages of Us Weekly, where several past and present staffers praised her. She has consistently denied the allegations of bullying. Prince Harry's ESPY Award In 2024, Prince Harry was awarded the ESPY's Pat Tillman Award for Service, sparking a major backlash from sports fans. At its peak, Mary Tillman, Pat's mother, told The Mail on Sunday: "I am shocked as to why they would select such a controversial and divisive individual to receive the award. There are recipients that are far more fitting." 'South Park' and the 'Worldwide Privacy Tour' Harry's memoir sparked a collapse in the couple's U.S. approval rating, and in the same way that a picture can tell a thousand words, an episode of South Park ridiculing the duke and duchess appeared to tell the story of a shift in American perceptions. The episode, titled "The Worldwide Privacy Tour," depicted the "Prince and Princess of Canada" campaigning for their privacy in the aftermath of the death of the "Queen of Canada." In one scene, the couple appears on a fictional Canadian morning show, holding "We Want Privacy" placards. The anchor asks the prince: "Let me start with you, sir. You lived a life with the royal family, you had everything handed to you but you say your life has been hard and now you've written all about it in your new book: Waaagh." The princess said: "I was totally like, 'You should write a book 'cause your family's, like, stupid and then so are, like, journalists." The interviewer says, "So you hate journalists? And now you wrote a book that reports on the lives of the royal family? So, you're a journalist." Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page. Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@ We'd love to hear from you.
