Interesting piece by Katherine Monk in the Edmonton Journal on filmmaker Atom Egoyan and the changing landscape of independent filmmaking:

After enjoying two decades in the sun, thanks to the commercially and critically successful careers of Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan and Paul Thomas Anderson, independent filmmakers are now looking at a much different picture. As studios continue to minimize risk while maximizing returns, the place for new and original voices continues to shrink.

Quoting Egoyan himself:

"The reality is that (festivals) may well represent the last form of theatrical exhibition for certain kinds of filmmakers," Egoyan says. "It used to be you'd go to a festival to make a sale and get a wider distribution deal. Now, the festival circuit is the means of distribution."