Opposition to the MPAA's Oscar-screener ban continued to grow Tuesday as AFMA, the trade association of independent film and TV producers and distributors, issued a letter of strong protest to MPAA head Jack Valenti, while at least one producer in the indie community has begun exploring the possibility of a class-action suit. "On behalf of AFMA members, we strongly object to the MPAA's unilateral edict to ban the use of screeners in connection with Academy Award consideration," AFMA president and CEO Jean Prewitt said in the letter to Valenti. While the organization includes member companies from the studio-based independents -- the AFMA board includes execs of Miramax Films and Focus Features -- the organization also includes smaller companies, not affected by the MPAA ban, that had not previously weighed in on the controversy.

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