The Directors Guild of America has announced a new policy that acknowledges the importance of a new trend. Whereas it is customary for studios to send copies of films to the DGA's 13,400 members, this practice puts independent films at a disadvantage. The DGA is responding by banning the practice -- and so levelling the playing field for films that do not have major financial backing. That's a solid recognition of the changing face of film -- and of the important work groups such as MPI are doing to make quality niche films that bring new voices to the genre.
But there remains the difficulty of getting indie films before audiences in the first place. Though it is now a little less possible for studios to stack the deck even further in favor of those with substantial funding, screeners still can't vote for films they have never seen.
Ideally, we will move toward a digital means of distribution that allows all potential award judges to see films that are contenders for awards. By removing the cost of making and mailing DVDs, the financial barriers to evaluation and recognition would be removed.